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Welcome

H

ello and welcome to your March edition of FlyPast magazine in which we’ll be celebrating de Havilland’s legendary Mosquito, often nicknamed the ‘wooden wonder’ owing to its method of construction. This is an issue I’ve been particularly looking forward to working on as there’s something so purposeful and aesthetically appealing about the ‘Mossie’, which – together with its exemplary track record and versatility – makes it very interesting to research and write about. In fact, during the FlyPast team’s hunt for images we came across the one below, which, I’m sure you’ll agree is a real find. Taken on June 6, 1947 at RAF West Malling, it shows three members of 500 (County of Kent) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, together with a fourth figure underneath one of the unit’s Mosquito NF.XXX night-fighters. Closer inspection revealed it to be none other than Anthony Eden, who was honorary Air Commodore of 500 Squadron, and deputy prime minister of the Conservative Government at the time. He later became better known as the political leader who was enmeshed in the Suez Campaign of 1956. The exhilaration on his face is something to behold, and if – as the image suggests – he’d just been up in the Mosquito in the background, one can understand why. We’ve managed to get some great features for you on the Mosquito as well, so pop the kettle on, sit back and read about one of the greatest designs ever to be produced by a British aircraft manufacturer.

Assistant Editor Steve Beebee

Contributing Editor Ken Ellis

EDITORIAL: Editor – Chris Gilson Assistant Editor – Steve Beebee Contributing Editors - Ken Ellis and Dave Unwin Group Editor - Nigel Price General enquiries to: Editor’s Secretary: Tuesday Osborne FlyPast, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ, UK Tel: 01780 755131 Fax: 01780 757261 E-mail: [email protected] www.flypast.com DESIGN: Art Editor – Mike Carr

Group Editor Nigel Price

Art Editor Mike Carr

Advertising Manager Alison Sanders

PRODUCTION: Production Editor – Sue Blunt Deputy Production Editor – Carol Randall Sub Editor - Norman Wells Production Manager – Janet Watkins ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL: Commercial Director – Ann Saundry Group Advertisement Manager – Brodie Baxter Advertisement Manager – Alison Sanders E-mail: [email protected] Sales Executive - Paige Hayward Ad Production Manager – Debi McGowan Ad Production Controller - Cheryl Thornburn E-mail: [email protected] Marketing Manager – Martin Steele Marketing Executive – Shaun Binnington

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Elsewhere in the world of warbirds, it’s great to hear that the Shuttleworth Collection has installed the engine on its Supermarine Spitfire V AR501 after a long and exhaustive restoration. Hopefully we’ll be able to hear its famous Merlin ‘snarl’ at an airshow soon, and better still, see it above our heads. Keep an eye on future news sections for more information about when and where. For those after something from the other side of the Atlantic, our Spotlight subject is the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which made a big impact during such actions as the Battle of Midway and was used so effectively by the Fleet Air Arm as the less aggressive-sounding Martlet. And if that’s not enough, other features include a look at the aircraft that helped develop the V-Bomber designs, the last use of the noble Handley Page Halifax in RAF service while flying from Gibraltar and my report from the Museum of Flight in Seattle – which is well worth a visit if you’re in the area. Until next time, remember the airshow season is looming fast and next month’s edition will include our free guide to what’s on at home and abroad. It’s an issue not to be missed. Until then, enjoy your magazine.

Chris Gilson Editor

Below Flanked by members of 500 (County of Kent) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Anthony Eden – at the time Deputy Prime Minister of the Conservative Government – continues his inspection of the unit on June 6, 1947 as a Mosquito NF.XXX stands in the background. The other inspection officers that day were AVM Sir Alan Lees, AOC Reserve Command and Air Cdre Sir Harry Broadhurst, AOC 66 Group.

FlyPast (ISSN: 0262-6950), March, is published monthly by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ, UK and distributed in the USA by Mail Right Int., 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854.

MANAGING DIRECTOR/PUBLISHER: Adrian Cox EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: Richard Cox SUBSCRIPTIONS / MAIL ORDER: Manager – Liz Ward PO Box 300, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1NA, UK Tel: 01780 480404 Fax: 01780 757812 E-mail: Subscriptions: [email protected] E-mail: Mail Order: [email protected] Readers in USA can place subscriptions by visiting www.flypast.com or by calling toll free 800-4283003 or fax 757-428-6253 or by writing to FlyPast, 3330 Pacific Ave, Ste 500, Virginia Beach, VA23451-9828. SMALL PRINT: While every care is taken with submissions, the Publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage incurred. All items submitted for publication are subject to our terms and conditions. These are regularly updated without prior notice and are downloadable from www.keypublishing.com We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication. The entire contents of FlyPast is © Copyright 2016. No part of it can be reproduced in any form or stored on any form of retrieval system without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Printed in England ISSN 0262-6950

Britain’s top-selling aviation monthly

Features 20

Allies and Warriors

28

Flying the Yak

Many Souffan, Alain Fages and Yves Donjon pay tribute to France’s greatest aviation unit, the Normandie-Niemen Regiment.

Luigi Caliaro profiles a Yak-11 that honours the famous Normandie-Niemen Regiment.

32

Just Jane

82

Paving the Way

Avro Lancaster ‘Just Jane’ was the focus of a recent early-morning photo shoot at East Kirkby – images by Darren Harbar.

114 Halifax on the Rock

Halifax crews routinely risked their lives to acquire vital weather information. Ken Ellis assesses the work of Gibraltar’s ‘met ships’.

Tony Buttler examines the scale testbeds that preceded the Victor and Vulcan – and looks at the V-bombers that might have been.

Contents March 2017

No.428

Front Cover

An air-to-air view of de Havilland Mosquito FB.26 KA114 (N114KA). This aircraft is based at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, US. GAVIN CONROY

This page, main image: John Pletcher’s Grumman Goose N703 flying in Alaska recently. See feature beginning on page 104. JOHN M DIBBS-THE PLANE PICTURY COMPANY

20 Allies and Warriors

82 Paving the Way

114 Halifax on the Rock

THE WOODEN WONDER

Regulars

WE SALUTE A LEGEND OF BRITISH WARTIME AVIATION – DE HAVILLAND’S MAGNIFICENT MOSQUITO.

88

Museums

94

From the Workshop

36 AFRICAN MOSSIES

Steve MacLean explains how the South African Air Force’s Mosquito-equipped 60 Squadron became photo-recce specialists.

44 DEFENDING THE COAST

The Mosquito was used to great effect in the anti-shipping role. Graham Pitchfork outlines its service over Norwegian waters.

54 HUNTING BY NIGHT

With no fewer than 20 ‘aces’ in the unit, 85 Squadron was one of the most successful Mosquito night-fighter units. Andrew Thomas reflects on its wartime history.

Chris Gilson pays a visit to Seattle’s magnificent Museum of Flight.

The transformation of a Jaguar from eyesore to museum exhibit is described by Ron Fulton of the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection to Hugh Trevor.

102 What’s New

The latest aviation-themed books and merchandise receive the FlyPast verdict.

104 Pilot’s Perspective

Grumman Goose pilot Burke Mees talks to Robert ‘Cricket’ Renner about his ‘all-time favourite airplane’, with air-toair images by John Dibbs.

110 FlyPost

Readers’ letters.

112 Glory Days

A portfolio of rarely seen images depicting the early war activities of 615 Squadron.

122 Finals

Avenger and Dauntless.

News • • • • • •

Mosquito arrives in US Shuttleworth Spitfire progress Mustang flies in Australia Marauder restoration under way Connie on the move New owner for Avenger

Spotlight

Grumman Wildcat

FREE gift when you subscribe! Claim your FREE Reunion of Giants DVD or Vulcan Test Pilot book when you take out a two-year or Direct Debit subscription to FlyPast. See pages 52 and 53 for details or visit www.flypast.com to find out more about our digital packages.

66 68

Origin and History

74

Men Behind the Machine

76

We recount the naval fighter’s history.

Warren E Thompson details the exploits of some of America’s Wildcat aces, including three Medal of Honor holders.

Wildcat in Profile

Andy Hay artwork of the Wildcat flown by esteemed aviator Lt Cdr John S Thach in World War Two.

In Combat

The Grumman fighter proved its worth during operations around Guadalcanal, in the Pacific. Warren E Thompson examines the action.

NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE

Airworthy Mosquito arrives in United States The cockpit and fuselage of de Havilland Mosquito T.III TV959 at Paine Field, Seattle, in December.

Inside TV959’s cockpit. BOTH HEIJO KUIL

De Havilland Mosquito T.III TV959 was delivered to its new home, the Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) in Seattle, Washington, on December 13. The aircraft made its first post-

restoration flight from Ardmore, New Zealand, on September 26 last year, following a five-year rebuild by Avspecs. Registered as ZK-FHC in New Zealand, it successfully completed its test flight

programme prior to being shipped to the US. While at Ardmore, it was painted to represent FB.VI NZ2337 of the RNZAF’s 75 Squadron, but has since had these

markings removed. It is currently being reassembled in public view in FHC’s Hangar B. Once completed, it is likely to be repainted in an as yet unconfirmed RAF scheme. www.flyingheritage.com

Engine re-installed in Shuttleworth Spitfire The Shuttleworth Collection’s longterm Supermarine Spitfire restoration reached a new milestone in December when the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was re-installed. Spitfire Mk.V AR501 has been undergoing a lengthy restoration (also see From The Workshop, October 2016 issue). Its wings have recently been reattached, and electrical systems and Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V AR501 in the Shuttleworth Collection’s workshop in December. SHUTTLEWORTH COLLECTION-DARREN HARBAR

flying instruments have been tested. The fighter is likely to fire up its engine this spring for the first time in over nine years. Engineer Ian Laraman said: “Putting the engine back into the Spitfire was a fantastic feeling after so much work. After stripping AR501 down to thousands of pieces we now have a complete aircraft and are racing toward our goal of getting her flying again, with the hope of this happening in 2017.” www.shuttleworth.org

First post-restoration flight for Australian Mustang Commonwealth CA-18 Mustang PR.22 A68-199 took to the skies over Tyabb, in Victoria, Australia, on December 16, after several years of restoration. The youngest survivor of 200 aircraft built under licence by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) in Australia, A68-199 was accepted by the RAAF in July 1951 and taken on by 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron. After just ten months of service, it was returned to 1 Aircraft Depot and eventually struck off charge in 1958. One of several Mustangs purchased by Aubrey ‘Titus’ Oates in 1958, it was converted into a target tug and flown as VH-BOZ in support of the Australian 6 FLYPAST March 2017

Army until 1970. It was later acquired by the RAAF Museum in Point Cook, Victoria, until changing hands again, ending up with present owner Peter Gill in 2014. It was taken aloft for its first postrestoration flight by Nick Caudwell, with engineer Peter Robinson in the rear seat. After a successful 20-minute flight testing the systems and flight controls, the Mustang returned without incident and was described by Nick as “a delight to fly”. Tyabb is now home to two airworthy Mustangs, the other being A68105 (VH-JUC), owned by Judy Pay and Richard Hourigan. The current population of airworthy, Australian-

built Mustangs in Australia has now risen to five, with 11 extant worldwide. MATT SAVAGE

Nick Caudwell and Peter Robinson airborne in CA-18 Mustang A68-199 on December 16. MATT SAVAGE-MACH ONE PHOTOGRAPHY

www.flypast.com

Hawker Sea Fury T.20 to fly again this year Hawker Sea Fury T.20 VX281 will return to British skies later this year. WITH THANKS TO LOUISE EVANS-NAVY WINGS

Yeovilton-based Navy Wings has announced that Hawker Sea Fury T.20 VX281 (G-RNHF) should fly again this year. The two-seater, which is on loan to the Royal Navy Historic Flight from the Fly Navy Heritage Trust, has been grounded since 2014 following an engine failure at that year’s RNAS Culdrose Air Day in Cornwall. The Trust launched an appeal to purchase a new Bristol Centaurus 18 engine, while the aircraft underwent repair and maintenance at Weald Aviation in Essex.

An engine has now been rebuilt from a unit sourced in the US. Initially stripped down to its basic components, it has been overhauled and is currently in the final stages of assembly. With work on the airframe completed last year, it will not be long before the new engine is installed. Hotel-Foxtrot was the second of 60 T.20s built as weapon trainers for the Fleet Air Arm. Delivered to the Royal Navy in 1950, it served with 736 and 738 Naval Air Squadrons at Culdrose. It is currently painted to represent a single-seat F.10 of 799 NAS. www.navywings.org.uk

Fokker project makes progress at Soesterberg The National Military Museum’s long-term Fokker CX project has been moved from Teuge, in the Netherlands, to the attraction’s Soesterberg base. The CX – a reproduction incorporating numerous original parts – has recently had fabric applied to its fuselage, and was visible to the public for the first

time at Soesterberg on January 8. It represents CX 711, and features the orange and black triangles that replaced the Dutch roundel shortly before the Netherlands was invaded by the Germans on May 10, 1940. The original 711 was damaged beyond repair on the same day. www.nmm.nl ROGER SOUPART

The National Military Museum’s Fokker CX reproduction, ‘711’, on January 8. ROGER SOUPART

Lancaster fuselage delivered to East Kirkby The forward fuselage of Avro Lancaster Mk.10AR KB976 was delivered to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre in East Kirkby on January 17. The exhibit belongs to Jeremy Hall and until recently was on display at the RAF Scampton Heritage Centre. It will remain at East Kirkby for the foreseeable future, until a new home can be found. A view of the Lancaster’s port side.

The forward fuselage of Avro Lancaster Mk.10AR KB976 arriving at East Kirkby on January 17. MARTIN KEEN-SILKSHEEN PHOTOGRAPHY

The aircraft was built in Canada as a B.X and delivered to Britain in May 1945, but saw no action. It was returned to Canada later that year and was converted into an electronic warfare Mk.10AR. It was eventually struck off charge in 1964, and made its final official flight as an RCAF aircraft on July 4 of that year at the Calgary International Air Show.

Sold to Scotland’s Strathallan Collection in 1974, it was registered G-BCOH for its flight across the Atlantic. Today the fuselage is painted in different schemes on either side – it represents a machine of Canada’s Air Transport Command to starboard, with wartime 405 Squadron livery to port. www.lincsaviation.co.uk

NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE

New exhibition opens at Norwegian museum

Some of the exhibits at the Norsk Luftfartsmuseum, with Islander LN-MAF at lower left. COURTESY MARTIN LOSVIK

Marauder restoration project begins in California

The forward fuselage of Marauder 40-1370 inside Pat’s workshop in California. PAT RODGERS VIA FRANK B MORMILLO

The substantial remains of Martin B-26 Marauder 40-1370 have been acquired by Pat Rodgers, who is aiming to rebuild the aircraft at his workshop, Aircraft Restoration Services, at the Wings & Rotors Air Museum, French Valley, California. Although the work is at a very

early stage, Pat has not ruled out the possibility of a restoration to airworthy status. The aircraft was based at Adak, Alaska, in June and July of 1942, and flew operations against the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Dutch Harbor. On August 16, it sustained serious damage when it skidded off a wet runway at Naknek, along with a second Marauder, 40-1381. The remains of both aircraft were recovered by the Hill Aerospace Museum in Utah. A scrap dealer removed some of the parts, but everything that remains is now being assessed by Pat and his team in California. WITH THANKS TO FRANK B MORMILLO

A new interactive gallery was opened at the Norsk Luftfartsmuseum (Norwegian Aviation Museum) in Bodø, Norway, on December 16. Named ‘Let’s Fly!’, the museum states that its new attraction “reflects on how aviation became part of the Norwegian identity” and how it “helped to shape the nation by connecting people, places and lifestyles within Norway”. The story of the nation’s flying history is told through several linked exhibits, giving the visitor an insight into the different eras, and the new challenges faced in each. A film titled Dream of Flying is featured along with one about the Junkers Ju 52, a Norwegian-

registered example of which can be seen in the museum. Newly restored Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander LN-MAF is part of the new exhibition, as is the Norwegian flag that was flown on the airship Norge, which on May 12, 1926, completed the first verified flight over the North Pole. Also on display is Grunau 9 LN-GAH, a German glider built by the Jeløy Glider Club in the late 1930s, and a scale model of Concorde. “For us it has been essential to bring out the important and intriguing stories from Norwegian aviation history, and let those determine the design [of the layout],” said Director Hanne Jakhelln. www.luftfartsmuseum.no

Bench dedicated to Battle of Britain veteran A bench dedicated to Battle of Britain veteran and local resident Fg Off Ken Wilkinson was unveiled outside Olton library in Solihull, West Midlands, on November 11. Ken, 98, attended the ceremony along with dozens of friends, local people and air cadets. The bench, which bears a dedication plaque, was revealed by

Mayor and Mayoress Mike and Jenny Robinson in the presence of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Sqn Ldr Andy Millikin and Flt Lt Antony Parkinson MBE. To mark the occasion, the library was decorated with homemade poppies, and featured an exhibition of photographs from Ken’s collection. The veteran, who worked as a quantity surveyor after the war, was interviewed by Radio WM and by TV’s Midlands Today. WITH THANKS TO ALAN MARSHALL

Fg Off Ken Wilkinson (right) with Fg Off Antony Parkinson (left) and Sqn Ldr Andy Millikin with the newly dedicated bench. COURTESY ALAN MARSHALL

Super Constellation on its way to Australia Lockheed Super Constellation N4247K Winky’s Fish completed the next stage of its journey to its new home, the Qantas Founders Museum in Queensland, Australia, on December 12. The aircraft was successfully moved from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines to the city’s port in preparation for shipping to Australia. The disassembled Super Constellation was lifted from its storage site at the airport and was transported by seven trucks. The operation took over four hours, and involved the partial closure of one of Manila’s main highways. 8 FLYPAST March 2017

Close cooperation with and support from the airport, police, local government and road authorities ensured that the tricky operation of moving the huge fuselage, wings, tail and four engines was accomplished efficiently, and with minimal disruption to the road system. Qantas Founders Museum Chairman John Vincent said he was excited by the project’s progress: “Moving a large, 60-year-old aircraft is no easy feat so we are delighted that this stage has been completed and the aircraft is one step closer to its final home here at Longreach. We have spent over two years fundraising and working on this

project and we look forward to having this machine in our collection soon.” The aircraft will be transported by sea to Australia later this year. Once at the museum, it will be completed in 1950s Qantas colours. https://qfom.com.au

The fuselage of Super Constellation N4247K ‘Winky’s Fish’ on December 12. RODNEY SECCOMBE-QFM

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17/01/2017 10:32

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Grumman Avenger acquired by new owner in US

Warbird collector Tim Savage of Huntington, Indiana has recently taken delivery of Grumman TBM-3E Avenger N4171A. The 1945-built aircraft was flown from Chino, California to its new home by Mike Burke. Mike experienced no problems during the long journey, save for a minor oil leak. The aircraft was extensively restored and rebuilt

in the early 1990s by Grumman test pilot Corwin ‘Corky’ Meyer, utilising the turret-less fuselage of ex-Royal Canadian Navy TBM-3S 53489. The original fuselage had been destroyed in a hangar fire. The completed aircraft now closely resembles a radar-equipped TBM-3D version – these had their turrets removed to save weight. A former air tanker with

Idaho-based Reeder Flying Service (with whom it flew as ‘Tanker D11’), N4171A now wears a white and grey World War Two Battle of the Atlantic scheme. It represents a machine from the US Navy’s VC-13, a composite unit made up of Avengers and Grumman Wildcats. These were used as ‘hunterkillers’ from escort carriers to target U-boats. Previously owned by the late John Freedman, of Ramona, California, the sale of the aircraft was handled by Courtesy Aircraft. Its return to Indiana represents a homecoming of sorts, as it was based in nearby Goshen for many years when owned by Steve Hay. The aircraft should be available for

airshows this year, starting with the TBM Avenger Gathering at Peru, Illinois on May 20. Tim has also recently added Taylorcraft L-2M N49555 to his collection. Meanwhile, his Douglas A-26B Invader (44-34104, N99420) is currently with Basler Flight Service at Oshkosh, Wisconsin undergoing repairs following a nose gear failure at 2016’s EAA AirVenture. If all goes to plan, the ‘Silver Dragon’ will be flying again this summer. JAMES P CHURCH

Top

Taylorcraft L-2M N49555 has also been acquired by Tim Savage. Above

Grumman TBM-3E Avenger N4171A arriving at Huntington, Indiana, recently. BOTH JAMES P CHURCH

Argentina’s F-27 Troopship makes final flypast After 48 years of service, the Argentine Air Force (FAA) retired its last Fokker F-27-400M Troopship on November 24. The 2nd Air Brigade bade farewell to Troopship TC-79 at a ceremony chaired by the FAA’s Chief of Staff Brigadier General Enrique Víctor Amrein. The aircraft performed demonstrations of cargo and paratrooper drop flights, before carrying out a final flypast in the company of three FMA IA-58 Pucarás of the 3rd Air Brigade. Flying for the first time on May 26, 1978 as PH-EXG, it entered FAA service on February 7, 1979. It belonged to the Escuadrón VI de Transporte Aéreo 10 FLYPAST March 2017

Fokker F-27-400M Troopship TC-79 makes a final flypast alongside a trio of FMA IA-58 Pucarás on November 24. ESTEBAN BREA

(6th Air Transport Squadron) until September 21, 1999. In 2016 it was decorated in a special commemorative scheme featuring the badges of Argentine units that operated the type. On November 22, Fokker F-27-600

Friendship T-44 was placed as a ‘gate guardian’ at Paraná, Entre Ríos, headquarters of the 2nd Air Brigade. It is located alongside several other aircraft that served the unit, including a BAC-built Canberra T.64.

The F-27 first flew in June 1971 as PH-EXB before beginning its Argentine military service in December of that year. It operated with the 1st and 9th Air Brigades before seeing out its ‘career’ with the 2nd. ESTEBAN BREA

www.flypast.com

New look for Canadian museum’s Air Park

Greenwood Military Aviation Museum’s Air Park, with Lancaster B.X ‘JB226’ in the foreground. COURTESY MALCOLM UHLMAN

After receiving three new aircraft last year and finishing work on Avro Lancaster B.X KB839, the Greenwood

Military Aviation Museum in Nova Scotia, Canada, has completed the transformation of its external Air Park.

As reported in our November 2016 issue, the new arrivals are former RCAF Lockheed CC-130E Hercules 328, Canadair CC-144 Challenger 616 and Lockheed CP-140A Arcturus 119. The latter was one of only three Arcturus aircraft to be used by the RCAF. The Lancaster remains the Air Park’s main attraction. The bomber was returned to a World War Twoera configuration last year, having previously been on display in a postwar maritime reconnaissance scheme.

Built in 1944 by Malton, Ontario’s Victory Aircraft, KB839 flew 26 bombing sorties from the UK with 419 ‘Moose’ Squadron. It was obtained by the museum from the RCAF’s 14 Wing in 1964, and has undergone significant restoration in recent years, including the replacement of its modified nose. It has been completed in the colours of Lancaster III JB226 which flew with 405 Squadron. WITH THANKS TO MALCOLM UHLMAN-GMAM

www.gmam.ca

Record-breaking Yak formation in Spain

Nine Yakovlev Yak-52s flew together from Casarrubios aerodrome in Toledo, Spain, on December 9 and 10. It’s believed to be the highest number of Yak-52s to fly in formation in the country’s history. Seven of the aircraft belonged to the Spanish Jacob 52 association, with two others visiting from Poland. ROBERTO YAÑEZ

Helicopter prototype destined for new home

Bristol Type 173 XF785 has been acquired by Aerospace Bristol, a museum due to open this summer. The helicopter was most recently at Filton, having previously been on display at Kemble, Glos, and at the RAF Museum Cosford. XF785 was the first of only five Type 173s to be built, and made its maiden flight in January 1952. www.aerospacebristol.org WITH THANKS TO ADAM JONES

F-111 bomber unveiled at Australian air base General Dynamics F-111C A8-142 was unveiled at RAAF base Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia, on November 23, by RAAF Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies. It is one of twelve F-111s to

have been placed on display around Australia following the nation’s withdrawal of the type in December 2010. A8-142 flew operationally with the RAAF from 1973 to 2009 and accumulated a total of 7,352 hours over its

37 years of service with both 1 and 6 Squadrons. The ‘swing-wing’ bomber is the latest addition to the Wagga Wagga gate guard collection which also includes a Canberra, Meteor F.8, Mirage III and a CAC Winjeel. The RAAF Wagga Wagga Heritage

Centre, positioned at the front gate, also has an extensive collection highlighting the base’s history. PHIL BUCKLEY

General Dynamics F-111C A8-142 is a new addition at Wagga Wagga. PETER WATTERS VIA PHIL BUCKLEY

March 2017 FLYPAST 11

NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE

Canberra, Anson and Battle projects under way in Australia Port Adelaide’s South Australian Aviation Museum (SAAM) has been making progress on four of its restoration projects, all of which are at different stages. The cockpit of English Electric Canberra T.4 WD954 has been fitted out with cockpit instruments, and externally painted white. The museum has acquired parts from various sources in Australia and further afield. The aircraft is being configured to represent that of Fg Off Michael Herbert and navigator P/O Robert Carver who lost their lives in RAAF 2 Squadron Canberra A84-231 while returning from a bombing mission near the Vietnamese border with Laos on November 3, 1970. After an extensive search, an investigation team finally discovered the Canberra’s crash site in April 2009. The remains of the crew were returned to Australia for a state funeral. The two men had been the last missing servicemen

from Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The museum’s Avro Anson EF954 restoration project is also making progress – work is currently focusing on fitting the engine cowls to the wings, fitting the cockpit roof frame, and attaching fabric to the rudder, tailplane and elevators. The completed Anson is likely to be painted in an RAAF World War Two-era ‘trainer yellow’ scheme in the near future. Extensive work has also been undertaken on Fairey Battle Mk.I N2188, with the manufacture of a new rear fuselage section. Templates for the fuselage frames have been laid out and elevators have been added to the rear tail assembly, among other jobs. The forward section, including the cockpit, has been detached and the engine should be added to the firewall mount later this year. SAAM is also carrying out preservation

work on de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou A04-225. It arrived at the museum in late 2016 and should be moved into the attraction’s new building soon. PHIL BUCKLEY www.saam.org.au

Top

The cockpit section of EE Canberra T.4 WD954 at SAAM. ALL PHIL BUCKLEY Above

Fairey Battle I N2188 is taking shape in Port Adelaide.

Below

briefings

Work on Avro Anson EF954 should be finished later this year.

12 FLYPAST March 2017

The Ejército Argentino (Argentine Army) has retired its five remaining Cessna Turbo Stationair 7 T207As (AE-233 is pictured). The original fleet comprised nine aircraft, all of which entered service in 1976. The Ejército has also withdrawn the last of its Swearingen Merlin IVs. Three of the transports served the army from 1979. JUAN CARLOS CICALESI

Recent months have seen a flurry of activity at the former RFC (and later RAF) base at Hooton Park in Cheshire. Major works are under way on two of the Great War-era Belfast truss hangars. The re-roofing and replacement of the central rainwater gully is now almost complete on Building 18, a continuation of work begun in November 2014 when one of the building’s outer faces was stripped and replaced. Further grant assistance from Historic England and WREN was secured during 2015 and with match funding from Vauxhall Motors, building work should be completed this month. The Trust will host a Heritage Open Days Weekend from September 7 to 10.

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17/01/2017 10:33

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Unrestored Mustang to be sold North American P-51D Mustang 4477902 is for sale in Texas via Platinum Fighters. Described by the latter as being “maybe the last original unrestored P-51D in original military configuration”, the 1944-built aircraft operated with the Guatemalan Air Force from 1954 to 1972. It then joined the US civil register as N38227 and flew on until 1983. Having

been stored in a controlled climate for more than three decades, it is believed to retain all its original armour plating and equipment. The Mustang is offered for sale as part of a larger collection of related items, including around 20 Merlin engines and several containers of P-51 parts. The asking price for the hoard is $4.5m (£3.65m). www.platinumfighters.com

North American P-51D Mustang 44-77902 is for sale in Texas. PLATINUM FIGHTERS

Albatros project for sale Cold War jets unveiled in Germany at California museum The Palm Springs Air Museum in Riverside County, California, celebrated its 20th anniversary on November 12 by unveiling Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-9531. Built in 1955, the jet served with the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing before passing on to a succession of Air National Guard (ANG) units. It was on display for many years in a USAF Thunderbirds colour scheme at the Octave Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, Illinois. Following the museum’s closure in October 2015, It was acquired by Palm Springs Air Museum and trucked to California. It has now emerged in a new paint scheme, representing F-84F 52-6675,

a jet that flew with the 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron, based at RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk, in the mid1950s. The real 52-6675 survives, and is displayed on a pole outside the Coffeyville Aviation Heritage Museum in Kansas. Another recent acquisition at Palm Springs is Convair F-102A Delta Dagger 56-1432. Previously at the Arkansas National Guard Museum, the jet has been restored and repainted to represent 56-1188 of the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, which was flown by former US president George W Bush when he was a lieutenant in the Texas ANG. www.palmspringsairmuseum.org ROGER SYRATT

The Albatros B.II project on display in Germany. THOMAS KRAUSE VIA STEFAN SCHMOLL

briefings

Thomas Krause is selling his partially built Albatros B.II replica, a potentially airworthy machine. Based in Emmendingen, Germany, Thomas has been working on the project for several years, displaying the fuselage structure in the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim in 2012. He has since made progress on the spars and ribs,

14 FLYPAST March 2017

and acquired a de Havilland Gipsy Queen engine to power the aircraft (in place of the Mercedes D.III unit that equipped the original). Sadly he has decided he will be unable to finish the project and is now seeking to sell it. Serious prospective customers can contact the German engineer at [email protected] STEFAN SCHMOLL

In the last issue of FlyPast we incorrectly identified a photograph on page 40 (High Flyers) as being American pilot Flt Lt Jim Nelson. The image actually showed Fg Off Jesse Hibbert who shared a victory with British pilot Flt Lt Peter Ayerst on June 12, 1944, as described in the article. A picture of the real Flt Lt Nelson is published here.

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-9531 shortly after being unveiled at the Palm Springs Air Museum. ROGER SYRATT

Gates Learjet 25D LV-OEL was unveiled at Argentina’s Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica (National Museum of Aeronautics) at Morón, Buenos Aires, on December 5. This aircraft flew in the Falklands conflict piloted by both military and civilian pilots. Having most recently served with Macair Jet, it was allocated to the museum last year. ESTEBAN BREA

www.flypast.com

Comper Swift joins civil register in New Zealand

The Cold War Museum’s newly restored Antonov An-2 on display at Teuge. ROGER SOUPART

Dutch ‘Colt’ restored in Chinese colours The Cold War Museum in Teuge, the Netherlands, recently rolled out its latest restoration project, Antonov An-2 ‘Colt’ SP-FVB. The aircraft was licence-built in Poland by PZL-Mielec, but has been repainted to resemble a machine that served with the Chinese Air Force. The

‘Colt’ last operated in Poland as SP-FVB, and was in storage at Twenthe Air Force Base in the Netherlands for some time. It was eventually transported by road to Teuge for restoration. Although returned to static display condition, the An-2 has the potential to be made airworthy. ROGER SOUPART

Currently being restored to fly at Jay McIntyre and Graham Orphan’s JEM Aviation in Blenheim, New Zealand, Comper Swift G-ACAG has been placed on the country’s civil register as ZK-UVC. Built at Hooton, Cheshire, in November 1932, it was used by its owner to tour Europe for two years, before export to Australia in December 1934. It spent most of its flying ‘career’ in the

Melbourne area with a final flight being recorded in or around 1962. After an undercarriage leg failure near Bundaberg in Queensland, a series of owners attempted restoration work before it ended up in the hands of Sydney-based Roy Fox in 1997. Having purchased the airframe and several spare Pobjoy engines, he eventually exported the project to New Zealand in 2014. New wings have been constructed and work carried out on three of the Pobjoy radials, one of which is now fitted. The undercarriage has also been installed, and a first flight could take place later this year. GEOFF JONES

Comper Swift ZK-UVC (originally G-ACAG) under restoration in Blenheim, New Zealand. VIA GEOFF JONES

Former Swiss Air Force Pilatus to fly in Belgium Pilatus P.3-05 D-EPCI has been acquired by a pair of Belgian aviation enthusiasts. It was transferred from Aachen, Germany, to its new home at Sint-Truiden, Belgium, on December 29. The 1959-built machine is one of 73 that served with the Swiss Air Force, with whom it flew as A-859 until 1992. It then joined the civil register as HB-RCB and LX-PAD before becoming D-EPCI. JOS SCHOOFS

The last aircraft to leave the now defunct Octave Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, Illinois is 1963-built Northrop F-5B Freedom Fighter 63-8441. Painted in a USAF Thunderbirds display team livery, the jet is believed to be on its way to the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Florida. www.frostscience.org TONY SACKETOS

Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8 VH-WLF successfully returned to the air in December. The Albury, New South Wales, Australia-based aircraft undertook two one-hour flights in the hands of pilot Steve Death. Lima-Foxtrot had been grounded after its canopy was damaged on the ground following a test flight earlier in the year. RAPTOR AVIATION VIA PHIL BUCKLEY March 2017 FLYPAST 15

NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 52-6524 on display at the MAPS Air Museum. BOTH TONY SACKETOS

Thunderstreak and Blue Angels Skyhawk on display in Ohio

briefings

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 52-6524 was placed on display at MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio, on November 11, following a thorough restoration. Built by Republic Aviation at Farmingdale, New York in 1954, it was delivered to the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing at Bergstrom in Texas during October of that year. It was deployed to the UK in August 1955, initially with the USAF’s 3928th Air Base Group located at Sturgate, Lincolnshire, before moving on to the 7559th Maintenance Group at Burtonwood, Cheshire, the following month. The jet was returned to the US in January 1956. It was briefly stationed at Brookley, Alabama, before being returned to Republic at Farmingdale for upgrades. In January 1958 it was passed on to the 162nd Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Springfield, Illinois. From October 1961 it flew with the 121st TFW also at Springfield, before moving on to MacDill, Florida and the 15th TFW in December 1962.

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Its last posting came in July 1964 when it was assigned to the 164th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Mansfield, Ohio. Here it remained until 1972 when it was retired from military service and purchased by a private collector in Ohio. Decades later, it was donated to MAPS Air Museum, arriving in March 2010. Several F-84F veterans, including one of this aircraft’s former pilots, participated in the restoration work at North Canton.

Tribute scheme The museum also recently unveiled Douglas A-4A Skyhawk 139947. It is painted in the colours of the US Navy Blue Angels display jet flown by Lt Cdr Stuart Powrie in 1981. Due to fly as the team’s lead solo pilot, Stuart was sadly killed when his aircraft crashed during practice on February 22, 1982. The museum’s Skyhawk was originally part of US Navy unit VA-125, based at Lemoore, California, in the 1960s. After

receiving upgrades it was assigned to a technical training centre at Chanute in Rantoul, Illinois in June 1988, and placed on static display at the base’s museum in 2015. Following the closure of the Rantoul attraction, the jet was acquired by MAPS and officially put on display on November 5, 2016. It is accompanied by various items relating to the Blue Angels and Lt Cdr Powrie, including his flying suit. TONY SACKETOS www.mapsairmuseum.org

Douglas A-4A Skyhawk 139947 at the Ohio attraction in November.

Personnel at Newark Air Museum have been reassembling the attraction’s Lockheed TriStar simulator. The exhibit was donated by the RAF Museum in 2015, arriving in a disassembled state in February 2016. The work is currently focusing on the main instrument panel. It is not yet known if the simulator will be returned to working order. HOWARD HEELEY

The US military finally retired its remaining McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs on December 21, 2016, marking the event with a ceremony and flying display at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Although the type left US frontline squadron use in 1996, over 300 were converted into QF-4 aerial target drones, and have been in service ever since. The jets were used to provide training for fighter pilots in air-to-air combat against live targets, and to test the effectiveness of weaponry in realistic situations. The final QF-4 conversion, formerly RF-4C 68-0599, was completed at AMARG in Tucson, Arizona during April 2013. The QF-16 will take on the Phantom fleet’s duties in the near future.

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17/01/2017 10:33

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Rare World War Two ‘pillbox’ defences found near airport

One of the two Mushroom type pillboxes discovered recently near London Southend Airport. SIMON MURDOCH

Whitley propeller blade is restored in Kent The UK-based Whitley Project took delivery of its first Armstrong Whitworth Whitley propeller blade recently, after the item was overhauled by Kent’s Medway Aircraft Preservation Society (MAPS). The project located a set of original wooden Whitley blades in Gloucestershire in 2008. Incredibly, they were being used as garden fencing. The blades were sent to MAPS

for restoration, which turned out to be a challenging and time-consuming task due to difficulties with forming the metal leading edge. The Whitley Project is delighted with the result, and expects the remaining five blades to be finished over the next 12 months. The team is searching for a second three-bladed Rotol propeller hub – if you can help, please contact Elliott Smock on 07890 892147.

Airport firemen from London Southend Airport have rediscovered two World War Two-era ‘pillboxes’, which were used as gun defences at RAF Rochford, as the airport was then known. The two cantilevered Mushroom or Oakington type pillboxes were found in deep undergrowth on land just north of the current airport. Both will be incorporated into a new £150m airport business park scheme. The structures were designed and built by FC Construction for airfield defence, and allowed a 360-degree view to guard against air attack or land troops. A central cross-shaped pillar acted as an anti-ricochet wall. Weapons were mounted on a tubular rail which ran around the whole of the inside wall. An ammunition shelter bunker and a hexagonal FW3 Type 22 pillbox have also been discovered, and will also be preserved and incorporated into the new business park. SIMON MURDOCH

Illinois Thunderchief on the move

The Aviation Museum of Kentucky has acquired Republic F-105F Thunderchief 63-8287 ‘Root Pak Rat’. The 1964-built jet is on loan from the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It had most recently been at Rantoul, Illinois, where it previously served as a ground-based instructional aid. www.aviationky.org TONY SACKETOS

We salute you

The restored AW Whitley propeller blade. COURTESY ELLIOTT SMOCK

18 FLYPAST March 2017

Wg Cdr Anthony ‘Bugs’ Bendell OBE AFC – Cold War fighter pilot and Phantom squadron commander – died on December 30, aged 80; Sqn Ldr John Dargan – flew Spitfires and served in the RAF for 20 years – on December 1, aged 90; Wg Cdr Leslie De Garis AFC – on December 5, aged 90; Arthur William Edgley – Short Stirling rear gunner with Mildenhall-based XV Squadron who was shot down in BK611 Te Kooti over Holland and evaded capture for six weeks – on December 24, aged 95; Wg Cdr Ted Holloway DFC – flew 18 Squadron Bisleys and Bostons in North Africa, including during the 1942 raid which led to Wg Cdr Hugh Malcolm being posthumously awarded the VC – on December 12, aged 98; Sgt Lloyd Henry Jennings – air gunner and last surviving crew member of B-17 ‘Ye Olde Pub’, famously spared from destruction by German fighter pilot Franz Stigler – aged 94; Gp Capt Brian Johnson OBE – fighter pilot who commanded Phantom-equipped 56 Squadron – on December 6, aged 77; AVM Peter Latham CB AFC – fighter pilot and leader of the Black Arrows display team, later commanding RAF Tengah and becoming AOC No.11 (Fighter) Group – on December 4, aged 91; Lt Cdr John ‘Jock’ Moffat – Swordfish pilot who took off from Ark Royal and torpedoed the Bismarck – on December 11, aged 97; Sqn Ldr Philip Patrick MBE DFC – flew Stirlings with 149 Squadron before joining the Pathfinder Force with Lancaster-equipped 7 Squadron, completing 60 ‘ops’ and becoming a Master Bomber – on September 12, aged 101; Flt Lt George Serrels DFC – Lancaster pilot with 166 Squadron – on November 22, aged 94; Lt Cdr Bruce Vibert DSC – Swordfish pilot with 842 Squadron who sank a U-boat while supporting an Arctic convoy – on October 30, aged 94; ‘Johnnie’ Walker – RAF and BAC test pilot who tested the BAC 1-11 and Concorde – on December 8, aged 87.

KOREAN WAR

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WORLD WAR TWO RUSSIAN FRONT

, ALAIN FA N A F F U O MANY S FR ANC Above

The first Yak-1Bs arrived at Ivanovo in January 1943. Note the winter camouflage. Left

Cne Alfred Mirlesse supervised all the negotiations with the Soviets. ALL VIA MANY SOUFFAN

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W

ith the words “Free France must fight on all fronts” General Charles de Gaulle expressed the solidarity of his people with the vast population of the Soviet Union. This commitment came in the wake of the German invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941. Leading French forces in exile, London-based de Gaulle cemented the relationship between the two countries on September 26 with an exchange of ambassadors. He urgently wanted to follow this up with a military gesture and he spoke of sending troops to Moscow. Initially, de Gaulle proposed

EGIMENT TO R E N T E U M IB IE R JON PAY T , THE NORMANDIE-N N O D S E V initiate arrangements. ION UNIT ES AND Y Britain did not favour sending LAIN FAG GREATEST AVIAT Intelligence Service. French pilots to the USSR, FR ANCE’S sending two motorised army units that the British did not want to use in Libya, despite the catastrophic situation there. In the USSR the scheme encountered logistical problems and not an outright refusal. Discussions with the Soviets had reached a stalemate when an unexpected event transformed the situation. Lt-Col Charles Luguet, air attaché at the French Embassy in Moscow, took advantage of the collapse in diplomatic relations between Vichy France and the USSR to join the Free French. Arriving in London, he was questioned on December 8 by Capitaine (Cne) Alfred Mirlesse, commander of the French Air

Luguet, who had spent more than three years in the Russian capital, painted an optimistic view of the military situation. Knowing the difficulties of sending a ground unit to the USSR, Mirlesse asked if it would be possible to send pilots to Russia. The former air attaché replied with a definite ‘yes’.

ENGLISHMEN AND LIBYANS

Gen. Martial Valin, chief of the Free French Air Forces acted on this conclusion and recommended de Gaulle open negotiations with the Soviets for a French squadron to fight alongside the Red Air Force. Luguet and Mirlesse, who spoke fluent Russian, were designated to

pleading the expense of having trained them and the RAF’s desperate need for men. The first Free French unit, 340 ‘Ile-deFrance’ Squadron (known to the French as Groupe de Chasse 2 - GC 2) had been formed at Turnhouse, in Scotland, in November 1941, flying Spitfires. While visiting 340 the following February, de Gaulle promised to take only volunteers already

March 2017 FLYPAST 21

WORLD WAR TWO RUSSIAN FRONT

Top

All of GC 3 ‘Normandie’ at Rayack on October 16, 1942. MARCEL ALBERT Above

A pair of Yak-1Bs departing PolotnianiZavod for a sector recce on March 24, 1943. FAMILLE DE PANGE

Right

Former Air Attaché at France’s embassy in Moscow, Lt-Col Charles Luguet was instrumental in helping establish GC 3.

operating in British units and not those coming out of training. Valin and Mirlesse met with the top French pilot, Flt Lt Jean Demozay, in late February to suggest he take command of the proposed Russian unit. Demozay refused because it would be six months before it could become operational. In his place Commandant (Cdt) Joseph Pouliquen, commander of GC 1 ‘Alsace’ in Libya, was appointed. Mirlesse was charged with finding not just pilots; he also needed a doctor and interpreters among other personnel. When the list of the volunteers was officially accepted there were only eight fighter pilots: Fg Off Didier Béguin, Plt Offs Yves Mahé and Joseph Risso from 253 Squadron; Plt Offs Marcel Albert and Albert Durand from 340 Squadron; Plt Off Marcel-Yves Bizien from 123 Squadron; Fg Off Roland de la Poype from 602 Squadron and Plt Off Marcel Lefèvre from 81 Squadron. Collectively, these were known as

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‘The Englishmen’; those from 253 Squadron had been flying Hurricanes, all the others, Spitfires. All embarked on the SS Highland Princess from Greenock on August 30, arriving at Lagos, Nigeria, on September 19. From there it was a combination of a Junkers Ju 52 operated by the Belgian airline Sabena, train and trucks to reach Rayack in Syria on October 7. There, they met up with volunteers from GC 1 ‘Alsace’: Cdt Jean Tulasne, Cne Albert Littolff, Lts Albert Preziosi, Jean Derville, André Poznanski and Sous-Lt (Sub-Lt) Noel Castelain. These became ‘The Libyans’.

‘INVADING’ RUSSIA

Groupe de Chasse 3 had been formed on September 4 in Beirut under Cdt Joë Pouliquen. Taking the name of the French province Normandie, the unit was ready on October 16, awaiting the approval of the Soviets. Three USAAF C-47 Skytrains,

laden with GC 3’s staff unit of 62 men took off bound for Baghdad, Iraq on November 12. A train took them to Basra and then a truck convoy on to Tehran, Iran. They had to wait for Soviet Lisunov Li-2s - licence-built Douglas DC-3s - which had to fly a circuitous route to Baku on the Caspian Sea and through the Urals to avoid the hell on earth that was the Battle of Stalingrad. On November 29, the Li-2s touched

Left

All the pilots and some of GC 3’s mechanics a few days after arriving at Ivanovo. FAMILLE TULASNE Below left

French and Russian mechanics work on a Yak-1B, probably ‘White 17’ at Mosalsk, April 1943. FAMILLE TULASNE

“The Frenchmen were of the understanding that life would be hard, not just combat with Axis pilots, but also against the winter, basic food, the language and homesickness” The first Yak-1B come to Ivanovo during the third week of January 1943, straight from Zavod 292 (factory 292) at Saratov, north of Stalingrad. In just a week the Free French crews were going solo in the fighter.

IRREGULARS

down at Ivanovo, 155 miles (250km) northwest of Moscow. The Frenchmen were of the understanding that life would be hard, not just combat with Axis pilots, but also against the winter, basic food, the language and homesickness. Fortunately, they were to experience the warmth of Russian hospitality. After a few days the Soviet command let the French choose the aircraft GC 3 would operate: the British Hurricane, the American P-39 Airacobra or the Russian Yakovlev Yak-1B. The selection

was not political, but technical and sentimental - the Yak. Technical, because the Soviet-built fighter was simple and rustic. Sentimental, because its 1,050hp (783kW) Klimov M-105 was the Hispano-Suiza 12Y built under Russian licence and more powerful. After ground school, flights in open cockpit, two-seat Yak UT-2 trainers on skis were made to familiarise the French with the area, especially when it was covered with snow. Next came sorties in a two-seat advanced trainer version of the Yak-7 with Kapitan Pavel Drousenkov at the controls.

Training ended in the middle of March 1943 with a presentation in front of Gal Petit, head of the French Military Mission to Moscow and Colonel Levandovitch, representing the Air Force Command of the Red Army. At this ceremony GC 3 ‘Normandie’ was considered operational. Tulasne led an escadrille (flight) to Polotniani-Zavod, 112 miles southwest of Moscow, on March 22 where GC 3 was to support the offensive on Smolensk by escorting the Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers of 261 Bomber Regiment (261 BAP), which was part of the 204 Bomber Air Division. While shepherding two Pe-2s in the Smolensk-Roslav area, Preziosi claimed the unit’s first victory, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, followed by a second one downed by Durand. The two ’190s probably belonged probably to Jagdgeschwader 51 ‘Mölders’. A few days later the Yaks lost March 2017 FLYPAST 23

WORLD WAR TWO RUSSIAN FRONT

Right

A page from Lt Marcel Albert’s logbook, showing his three victories of July 1943, out of 21 in Russia. Right centre

A map found in the RAF logbook of Lt Marcel Lefèvre shows the position of ‘Escadrille Normandie’ among all the Russian offensives of the spring and summer of 1943. Below

Lt Marcel Albert’s Yak-3 at Sterki in October 1944. It carries the white lightning bolt and Albert’s 23 ‘kills’.

“One of the last of ‘The Englishmen’, experienced and much appreciated, Lt Marcel Lefèvre was decorated posthumously with the Gold Star Medal, Hero of the Soviet Union” their winter camouflage - all white with red tactical codes - for green/ black with white codes. On April 13 GC 3 conducted its first free-ranging patrol; six Yaks meeting up with eight Fw 190s. They claimed three, but for the loss of three pilots: Derville, Poznanski and Bizien. In meantime, Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, chief of the German High Command, defined the French pilots as irregular soldiers. If

24 FLYPAST March 2017

taken prisoner, they were to be shot on the spot and reprisals taken on the families. This seems to be the case of Marcel-Yves Bizien; his two brothers were arrested back in France and sent to a concentration camp. That same day, April 13, Gen Khondiakoff, chief of the 1st Air Army, met with Tulasne to express his sadness. Declaring that “the unit must last”, Khondiakoff concluded with “you will work closely with a fighter regiment to permit ‘Normandie’s’ pilots to avenge a hundredfold their missing comrades”.

ELITE STATUS

From that moment, up to July 1943, ‘Normandie’ was integrated into the 18th Guards Regiment (18th GuIAP) at Kathionki, while keeping its identity. In mid-May, GC 3 received three new pilots and in June eight more, among them Cdt Pierre Pouyade who become Tulasne’s deputy. On July 5, the unit received a dozen new Yak-9s. A week later GC 3 was involved in the bitter fighting of the Battle of Kursk. By this time, the unit’s Yaks had their spinners painted red, white and blue. Between July 13 and 19 ‘Normandie’ claimed

NORMANDIE-NIEMEN LEGACY Among the Yak-3s that touched down at Le Bourget, near Paris, on June 20, 1945 was ‘White 18’. It and several others of the 42 ferried from Elbing on the northern Polish coast were displayed across France, to celebrate the Normandie-Niemen Regiment. Yak-3 ‘White 18’ was presented to France by Stalin ‘White 18’ was last flown in April 1946. in 1945 and is displayed at the Musée de l’Air at Le Bourget. KEC BELOW: © PHILIPPE CHAILLET It was discovered in a scrapyard in the late 1940s by former Normandie-Niemen pilot Cne Constantin Feldzer and, using parts from other Yaks from Stalin’s gift, it was returned to static condition and presented to the Musée de l’Air at Chalais-Meudon, near Paris, in 1950. By the mid-1970s the museum had relocated, appropriately in the Yak’s case, to the former Paris Airport Le Bourget, and ‘White 18’ remains on show. South of Bordeaux at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base, the present-day ‘Normandie-Niemen’ is known as Regiment de Chasse 2/30, flying the state-of-the-art Dassault Rafale F3 jet fighter. In 2012 the unit celebrated its 70th anniversary by painting one of the Rafales in a special scheme, including a huge red star - the unit remains deeply proud of the exploits of its forebears during World War Two.

19 victories, for the loss of six pilots, among them Tulasne and Littolff. From July to October the unit was involved in all Soviet offensives in the sector: Bryansk, SpasDemiansk, Ielnia, Smolensk and finally Orcha. At the end of its first campaign, the unit had claimed 77 victories for the loss of 21 pilots. Of the 14 founder pilots, only five had survived; all having been through RAF operational training units. For its winter quarters ‘Normandie’ moved to Tula, to the south of Moscow. With the liberation of North Africa, 62 new pilots arrived between December

1943 and April 1944 and their training was supervised by the ‘veterans’. In the meantime, 20 Yak-9Ts with a 37mm cannon and 20 long-range Yak-9Ds were taken in charge. On April 28, GC 3 was elevated to the status of a regiment, comprising the 1st Escadrille ‘Rouen’, the 2nd ‘Le Havre’, 3rd ‘Cherbourg’ and the 4th ‘Caen’, under Lt-Col Pouyade, assisted by Cdt Louis Delfino. The Normandie Regiment was declared operational on May 25 and considered an elite unit. The following day the unit departed Tula for Doubrovska to take part in

the offensive on Vitebsk. On May 28, Lefèvre encountered a problem and he decided to return to base, but his Yak caught fire on landing. Badly burnt, he died eight days later in Moscow. One of the last of ‘The Englishmen’, experienced and much appreciated, Lt Marcel Lefèvre was decorated posthumously with the Gold Star Medal, Hero of The Soviet Union. During transfers from one base to another, it was common that a mechanic flew with his pilot in the cramped space behind the Yak-9’s cockpit. The gap was so small that the passenger could not have a parachute. During a flight between Mikountani and Doubrovska on July 15, Lt Maurice de Seynes was carrying his Russian mechanic Vladimir Bielozub. Setting up for landing there was an oil leak, blanking out the windscreen. De Seynes radioed his plight and was told to bale out; he refused. Agavalian, the engineer commander of mechanics at Doubrovska demanded he use his parachute, as did a stoic Bielozub. Maurice de Seynes refused a second time; he would not abandon his mechanic and attempted a ‘blind’ landing. They were buried together, the noble French pilot with the brave mechanic. This story remains a legend in Russia, even among youngsters. It is another exploit among hundreds of others that explains the folklore of Normandie-Niemen in its adopted homeland.

Above

The last five pilots of the original line-up. Left to right: Lt Marcel Albert, Sous-Lt Roland de la Poype, Cne Didier Béguin, Lt Marcel Lefèvre and Sous-Lt Joseph Risso. FAMILLE LEFÈVRE

Below left

Lt Jean de Pange in ‘his’ new Polikarpov Po-2 in 1944. It was used as a ‘hack’ by the unit. FAMILLE DE PANGE

March 2017 FLYPAST 25

WORLD WAR TWO RUSSIAN FRONT

Above

Colour image of the arrival of the Yak-3s from Elbing at Le Bourget, June 1945. Right

Ease of access for maintenance was typical of Soviet design. Sous-Lt Roger Sauvage’s Yak-3 shows off its powerful Klimov VK-105PF2. FAMILLE SAUVAGE

Right centre

Cdt Tulasne and Maj Dymtchenko of 261 BAP at Polotniani-Zavod on April 5, 1943 celebrating the French units’ first victories. FAMILLE TULASNE Right

A new Yak-3 being tested by Cne Marcel Albert. MARCEL ALBERT

NIEMEN ACCOLADE

After a month of bitter fighting, the city of Vitebsk was retaken, only to be followed by the Battle of Berezina. During July 1944 the Normandie Regiment helped to protect the advance of the Red Army, which succeeded crossing the River Neman (Niemen in French), the old natural border between East Prussia and the USSR. This was a phenomenal milestone in what the Soviets call the Great Patriotic War. Stalin issued a prikaz (decree) on July 21, announcing that the French unit could hold the title of Regiment of Niemen and thus was renamed the Normandie-Niemen Regiment. At the same time, GC 3 settled in Alytus on the banks of the Neman and began to exchange its Yak-9s for new Yak-3s, one of the best and most beautiful fighters of World War Two. After a period of rest, the French unit was involved in the offensive on Prussia from October 16. On that day, Normandie-Niemen claimed 29 victories without loss, the day after 12, on the 18th another dozen and 11 more on the 20th.

26 FLYPAST March 2017

To mark the passing of command from Cdt Delfino to the promoted Col Pouyade, GC 3’s Yak-3s were painted with a white lightning bolt down the fuselage sides, in honour of Major-General Georgi Zakharov, commander of the 303rd Fighter Aviation Division. By the end of this campaign, November 27, Normandie-Niemen claimed 124 ‘kills’ for the loss of 12 pilots. On the following day Lt Marcel Albert the regiment’s top ‘ace’ with 21 victories, and Lt Roland de la Poype, with 16, each became a Hero of The Soviet Union. They received the Gold Star Medal from Marshal Novikov on December 9 in Moscow.

A few hours after this ceremony, de Gaulle received the entire regiment at the French Embassy and made the unit a Companion of the Order of Liberation. Then it was back to Prussia to prepare for the final push to Berlin. The unit came back to Prussia to get ready for the second offensive. On December 30 Lt Robert Marchi notched up the regiment’s 200th victory.

BERLIN ASSAULT

The Soviet Union’s onslaught against the German capital, unleashed in January 1945, was of enormous proportions; there were seven tanks for every German example

and 18 aircraft for each one of the Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, the fighting was fierce as Germany contested every metre of its territory. Normandie-Niemen was always there, moving with each advance of the Red Army, always close to the front. On March 20 the regiment was honoured with the Order of the Red Flag. Five days later, SousLt Maurice Challe was declared missing in action, to become the last pilot lost by GC 3. Lt Georges Henry shot down an Fw 190 on April 12, the 273rd and final victory for NormandieNiemen. A few hours later, Henry was killed by a shell splinter on the ground.

“Stalin was so impressed by the French pilots and their exploits that he decided to hand over 42 Yak-3s to the Normandie-Niemen. In Soviet terms, he was gifting an entire aviation regiment”

Thirteen new pilots joined the regiment on April 25, but they were not needed. The French pilots celebrated the end of the war in Europe with their Russian

comrades on May 9, the day after VE Day, taking into account Soviet time zones. As the pilots of GC 3 waited for the moment to return to France, a

Soviet officer came with a suitcase full of money. This was normal procedure as every aircraft shot down resulted in the award of 1,000 roubles. With 273 victories, the Normandie-Niemen Regiment was owed a significant sum according to the USSR. The French politely refused. Stalin was so impressed by the French pilots and their exploits that he decided to hand over 42 Yak-3s to the Normandie-Niemen. In Soviet terms, he was gifting an entire aviation regiment. All of the unit left Elbing on the Baltic coast on June 15 and landed at Le Bourget, Paris, to much celebration from the French people on June 20. Normandie-Niemen, the best unit of Armée de l’Air, still serves its country. It is the best-known element of the French Armed Forces after the Foreign Legion.

Above

The Normandie-Niemen Regiment at Le Bourget on June 20, 1945. FAMILLE DE PANGE

Left

A Yak-3 displaying at Le Bourget, June 1945. HENRY RUTTER

March 2017 FLYPAST 27

WARBIRDS YAKOVLEV YAK-11

RIDInG A

Moose LUIGI CALIARO PROFILES A YAK-11 THAT HONOURS THE FAMOUS NORMANDIE-NIEMEN REGIMENT

Right

Stefano Landi piloting his Yak-11. Below, left to right

Proud owner and pilot, Stefano Landi. The badge of the Normandie-Niemen Regiment below the windscreen. The Yak’s front cockpit, complete with gunsight. As a weapon’s trainer, the ‘Moose’ could carry a UBS machine gun, geared to fire through the propeller arc.

a

s often as possible, the hangar doors are drawn back and a distinctively marked warbird is rolled out. It is not long before the growl of its big radial engine breaks the silence of the countryside. There’s no mistaking the Yakovlev Yak-11; it always attracts attention. This machine is the pride and joy of entrepreneur Stefano Landi and it is the flagship of his OldBirds collection, based at Ravenna, on Italy’s Adriatic coast. Keeping the Yak company in the hangar is Stefano’s wartime Boeing Stearman biplane, in a blue and yellow US Army Air Corps scheme and a modern French-built Mudry CAP 10 two-seat aerobatic monoplane, owned and flown by his wife, Caterina.

28 FLYPAST March 2017

Known to NATO as Moose, the Yak-11 was the backbone of Soviet initial training from the late 1940s into the 1960s. Stefan’s example flies in Red Air Force camouflage, with the fuselage bearing a lightning bolt and the red, white and blue spinner of the famous French-crewed Normandie-Niemen Regiment of World War Two.

VITAL SPARK

Along with two colleagues, Stefano manages a chain of restaurants themed to recreate the atmosphere of the 1950s, offering typical

American fare of the period. Stefano explained how he came to own the Moose: “Aviation, and a passion for mechanics and aerodynamics has always attracted me, ever since I was small. For a long time I dedicated myself to flying model aircraft and restoring and collecting American motorbikes and cars. “Over the years this passion has developed and has been shared with my wife, Caterina. I’ve focussed my energies towards everything from the 1930s to the 1950s, collecting clothes, uniforms, furniture, photographs and objects.

Above

The Yak is finished in the colours of a Yak-3 of the French NormandieNiemen Regiment, complete with lightning bolt along the fuselage and tricolour spinner.

“The spark that lit my desire to fly my own historic aircraft came, almost by chance, during a holiday in the Hawaiian islands. At a small airfield I had the opportunity to meet an old pilot intent on servicing his old biplanes, a 1940 Waco and a 1941 Stearman. We quickly struck up a friendship, and a flight over the ocean and splendid scenery of the islands blew me away. I returned home totally determined to fly these machines. “So, in 2011, I acquired 1940 N2S-3 Stearman N97X, and a few years later, the rare 1946 Globe GC-1B Swift N78097. I joined the Historical Aircraft Group, all owners and pilots. A couple of years ago I came into contact with the Salis brothers at La Ferté Alais in France and, learning that their Yak-11 was available, I arranged its acquisition

and included in the negotiations an exchange with the Swift.”

MASS PURCHASE

Stefano’s Yak-11, German-registered as D-FJII, was manufactured in 1952 by Yakovlev. This distinguishes it from most of the survivors which were built in Czechoslovakia by LET – see the panel. It was delivered to the Egyptian Air Force in the early 1960s, serving well into the 1970s. In 1982 Raymond Capel and Jean Salis discovered a large number of Yaks in store at a military depot at El Khanda on the Nile delta. The Frenchmen set to negotiating with the Egyptian authorities and in 1983 they managed to acquire 41 examples. This incredible cache was

shipped to Marseilles and from there trucked to La Ferté Alais from where they were distributed to warbird enthusiasts the world over. Salis sold the Moose that Stefano now treasures to Philippe Joyet, a friend of the family. It was subjected to a painstaking restoration at Lausanne, Switzerland, where it flew for the first time in the

summer of 1995, carrying a French registration, F-AZIO. The Yak was based at Lons-leSaunier, northwest of Geneva, up to 2005, when it moved to the famous restoration centre run by the Meier brothers in Germany, becoming D-FJII. India-India returned to the Salis family and La Ferté Alais in June 2011 and it was sold to Stefano in the summer of 2015.

ROBUST AND RELIABLE

Stefano has a high regard for his Yak: “Having read reports March 2017 FLYPAST 29

WARBIRDS YAKOVLEV YAK-11

YAKOVLEV YAK-11 MOOSE

Above

The Yak’s 700hp Shvetsov ASh-21 seven-cylinder radial. ALL AUTHOR

In 1945 the Yakovlev design bureau responded to a request from the Soviet Air Force and Naval Air Force for a new trainer based on the excellent Yak-3 fighter. The result was the Yak-3UTI, retaining much of the Yak-3, including the wing shape, but with a more practical seven-cylinder 700hp (522kW) ASh-21 Shvetsov radial engine. This was followed by the more refined Yak-11 in 1946, which was mass produced – Soviet output amounting to 3,859 examples. From 1952 to 1956 LET at Kunovice in Czechoslovakia built another 707, under the designation C-11. The NATO reporting name for the Yak-11 was Moose. The type was widely supplied throughout the Soviet Bloc and was used by 18 countries. The Yak-11 could have a 12.7mm machine gun installed and carry underwing racks for 100kg bombs. The Moose was used for pilot training, plus light fighter, liaison and target-tug duties.

and the impressions of other pilots, the conviction I had developed that the Yak had great characteristics was confirmed during my first flights in control. I consider the Yak an excellent aircraft, with performance on a par with some of the most famous warbirds, despite possessing only around half of their power. “Half the horse power means appreciably reduced fuel consumption. For example, at 65% power at 1,000ft the Yak can fly at around 200 knots, consuming 180 litres per hour. At 225 knots the big radial drinks 280 litres per hour. “A minor limitation is the take-off run; it requires a runway slightly longer than the usual length found at airstrips in northern Italy. You 30 FLYPAST March 2017

can take off and land in 800 metres, but I normally prefer to operate off runways, grass or asphalt, at least a kilometre long. “Once on the ground, it keeps on track and doesn’t yaw much. While taxiing, like in any other tailwheel aircraft, it is essential to ‘zig-zag’ to be able to see ahead. “It is in its systems that the Yak has its strongest points. A typical Russian aircraft – Spartan and rugged – it possesses simple and effective pneumatic systems. Starting, brakes, flaps, undercarriage retraction and emergency systems are all powered by compressed air; stored in two bottles, one main and one emergency. “The engine is robust and reliable,

despite the fact that it hides some unusual systems, such as a centrifugal self-removal system for water contamination in the fuel supply. It is also equipped with a volumetric compressor, fuel injection and an aneroid capsule, which delivers the correct air/fuel mixture as altitude increases. “Despite its size, the Yak has a good rate of roll, equivalent to that of an aerobatic type, such as the CAP 10, achieved through its heavily tapered, small span wing. It is possible to fly aerobatics as in all the other warbirds, performing in the main, lazy and soft manoeuvres. “While the great Jean Baptiste Salis, its previous owner, was showing me his collection he didn’t miss an opportunity to underline how the other aircraft that he flew, like the Skyraider, Corsair etc, were, in certain aspects, more docile than the Yak. He told me: ‘Learn to fly this aircraft well and you won’t have problems with any other type’.” www.old-birds.com and www. hag-italy.it

In a Different 1990

Alternate History, World War III

William Stroock Available on Amazon

p031_FP_Mar17_ad.indd 1

17/01/2017 10:34

PHOTOGRAPHY AVRO LANCASTER

A BNew Dawn ased at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre (LAHC), at East Kirkby, Avro Lancaster B.VII NX611 Just Jane is being stripped down for a complete inspection pending a restoration and possible return

32 FLYPAST March 2017

to flight. At 4am on the morning before it entered the workshop, it was taken from its hangar for a specially commissioned FlyPast photo shoot as dawn was breaking. These are the breathtaking results as the sun rose behind the aircraft,

with photographer Darren Harbar capturing the moment. All images by Darren Harbar. FlyPast thanks Andrew Panton of LAHC and his willing staff for their invaluable help.

Avro Lancaster ‘Just Jane’ was recently the subject of an early morning photo shoot at East Kirkby

March 2017 FLYPAST 33

Norweigen F_P.indd 1

17/01/2017 09:24

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

WOODEN WONDER

FROM MIGHTY OAKS O

ne of the most aesthetically pleasing aircraft ever built must be the versatile de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito, an aircraft that from the very start held great promise. It became one of the mainstays of the RAF during World War Two. Created under a blanket of

secrecy at the Salisbury Hall shadow factory, W4050, the prototype, first took to the air on November 25, 1940. The first unit to receive operational aircraft was 105 Squadron, which received B.IV’s just under a year later, on November 15, 1941. It is an aircraft that earned respect

from both its pilots and foes, and remains popular to this day, still being known as the ‘wooden wonder’ – a nod to the main material of its construction. This issue features three great features on the Mosquito, and gives an insight into the capabilities of this legendary aeroplane.

36 SOUTH AFRICAN ‘MOSSIES’ Steve MacLean tells the story of how 60 Squadron (SAAF) was given crudely modified Mosquitos and its crews became photo-reconnaissance specialists, seeing action over the desert and in European skies.

44 A DANGER TO SHIPPING The Mosquito was a devastating aircraft when used in the strike role – especially against shipping. Graham Pitchfork looks at the work of the Mk.XVIII-equipped Banff Wing as it attacked the enemy off the coast of Norway.

Top and above

The second Mosquito produced, W4051, is pictured while still with the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment. It was later used operationally by 1 PRU, 521 and 540 Squadrons and 8 Operational Training Unit, before being struck off charge in June 1945. In the lower view, a Westland Lysander and Vought Chesapeake are also visible. BOTH KEY COLLECTION

54 SEEING IN THE DARK One of the highest-scoring night-fighter units in the RAF was 85 Squadron, which found its radar-equipped Mosquito interceptors were perfect for the job. Andrew Thomas examines some of the exploits of the squadron and its successes after dark.

March 2017 FLYPAST 35

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

PHOTO-RECONNAISSANCE

SOUTH AFRICAN

‘Mossies’

STEVE MACLEAN EXPLAINS HOW 60 SQUADRON SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE (SAAF) EVOLVED FROM CRUDELY MODIFIED MOSQUITOS TO PHOTO-RECCE SPECIALISTS Below and top right

Images from the extensive record of damage to the refineries at Ploesti taken by 60 Squadron. Right

The underside of a PR Mosquito showing camera positions.

T

oo often, reconnaissance pilots are told to soldier on and make do with obsolescent or unsuitable equipment; yet the information they are tasked to acquire is vital to the war. So it was with 60 Squadron of the South African Air Force, based in Libya in the first weeks of 1943. With a fleet of Martin twins (three Baltimores and four Marylands – all of varying serviceability), operational effectiveness was becoming a hitand-miss affair without taking into account enemy fighters and the weather. A plea by 60’s officer commanding (OC), Major Owen Glynn Davies, to General Montgomery, who led the British 8th Army, for Mosquitos had been forwarded to the RAF but was rejected. Davies also sent a request to General Eisenhower to utilise a B-17 Flying Fortress that could use defensive armament to hold the enemy at bay long enough to allow photography. An appeal to the RAF for fighter escorts was refused.

36 FLYPAST March 2017

Entries in 60 Squadron’s diary make tantalising reference to a captured Heinkel He 111 being modified and made available for operations. There is, sadly, no identification of the airframe involved, or its ultimate fate. After victory at El Alamein in October 1942, Montgomery prepared to move west into Tunisia and attack the Mareth Line, built by the French before the war as a bastion against aggression from Italian-held Libya. Precise intelligence on this coastal choke point was essential. Monty is believed to have said an attack on the Mareth Line would be “exceedingly difficult unless 60 Squadron was equipped with suitable aircraft” and that “unless his request was reasonably considered he would take the matter up with the Prime Minister”.

CUTTING HOLES

The unit moved to the Libyan airstrip at Darragh on January 22,

1943 and learned the following day it would receive Mosquitos. Two were to be collected from 107 Maintenance Unit (MU) at Kasfareet in Egypt. Two days later Davies, Lt Oliver Martin and navigators Plt Off Thomas MurrayPrior and De Bruyn arrived to find Mk.IIs DD743 and DD744 waiting. Davies later recounted: “Why send me fighter aircraft when the RAF knew we required photographic models? How on earth was my navigator to line up for photo runs with a solid nose in front of him out of which projected four Browning machine guns and four Hispano cannon?” It was later discovered the Mk.IIs had been sent to the Middle East for weathering trials but were passed to the South Africans in an effort to appease Montgomery. Handbooks or pilots’ notes? There were none. Cockpit drill? That was the preserve of the delivery crew and they were enjoying the delights of Cairo. After a day’s wait,

’

“How on earth was my navigator to line up for photo runs with a solid nose in front of him out of which projected four Browning machine guns and four Hispano cannon?” March 2017 FLYPAST 37

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

Right

Captain ‘Pi’ Pienaar and Lt Archie Lockhart-Ross surveying the damage to Mk.XVI NS520 following the celebrated encounter with a Me 262 on August 15, 1944. Below

Part of the Obersalzberg complex, above Hitler’s mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden, recorded with an F36 camera from 20,000ft on April 26, 1945.

PHOTO-RECONNAISSANCE

the 107 MU’s OC agreed to brief Davies and Martin before the two pilots each completed a 40-minute familiarisation flight in DD744 on the 26th. Next problem was where and how to fit a camera. With the help of MU personnel, Davies established a Williamson F8 Mk.IIB camera would fit under the navigator’s seat, leaving the lens almost flush with the bottom of the belly. A long drift sight projecting through the cabin floor would allow the navigator to lean forward and put his eye to the glass. After a short debate as to the merits of cutting holes in the aircraft skin, it was all systems go. Ten days

assisted in loading the Mosquitos weaponry. This became a regular feature of sorties over areas where the risk of interception by enemy fighters was considered high. The first of several Baltimore IIIs were received on March 5 despite numerous protests at their unsuitability. The Mosquitos were ordered back to Egypt in May for the fitting of 10° oblique cameras and a new Fairchild vertical unit. The cannons were removed but the Brownings were retained. The opportunity was taken to repaint the aircraft in what the squadron diary called “midnight blue”. On May 30 the unit, now based at Sorman, was

Right

Lt Alister ‘Shorty’ Miller carried out the first bomb damage assessment sorties over Ploesti.

later a simple timing control system had been added and the Mosquitos were ready for the journey west. On February 4, DD743 and DD744 arrived overhead Castel Benito, where the squadron had moved. Martin effected an effortless arrival while Davies circled DD744 with a troublesome tailwheel. The OC had little option but to take a chance and dropped the aircraft on to the runway and was greeted with a thud. A third green light indicated the wheel was down and locked.

UP AND RUNNING

Four days later the Mosquitos attempted a reconnaissance of the Mareth Line, but radio and oxygen system failures in DD744 forced an 38 FLYPAST March 2017

early return. Heavy cloud interfered on February 15, 1943 but as some photography was done it was considered partially successful. The Mosquitos were up and running. Efforts to photograph the Ras-el-Djerf area on the 16th, although also unsuccessful, saw DD743 armed and flying as a ‘weaver’ to the second Mosquito. Ammunition came from the Hurricane-equipped 40 Squadron SAAF whose personnel

Left centre

A version of the 60 Squadron badge; an eagle clutching a recce camera. Left

A 60 Squadron Christmas card for 1943.

“On November 1 the squadron broke new ground with a first sortie into Germany. Airfields at Munich, Augsburg and a large marshalling yard at Innsbruck in annexed Austria were successfully covered” FOUNDING FATHER The first Mosquito converted for photorecce duties with 60 Squadron was DD743.

Mosquito DD743 began life as a NF.II and was eventually selected along with DD744 for weathering trials in the Middle East. It was transferred to 60 Squadron at Kasfareet, Egypt, on January 26, 1943. After ten days of modification, DD744 became an unofficial ‘PR.II’ at Kasfareet and became the founding father of the unit’s photo-recce Mosquitos. On July 5, 1943 DD743 failed to return from an operation out of Sabratha, Libya. Lt J van Dijl was lost while Lt G W Barnes became a prisoner of war. Major Owen Glynn Davies, 60 Squadron’s OC piloting DD743 while attempting to convince doubting aircrew the Mosquito was a stable platform on a single engine.

notified by the headquarters of 285 Wing that it would receive five new Mosquitos. The squadron was to comprise two flights: a photographic reconnaissance unit (PRU) and one for survey work. The PRU Flight left for La Marsa, near Tunis, almost immediately. Three Mosquitos were made available pending arrival of the South African’s aircraft. Serviceability and operational requirements led to the offer being only partially fulfilled, but it did introduce the P-38 Lightning to the SAAF when three were made available by the USAAF’s 3rd

Photo Group to the PRU Flight for training. The first recorded flight in a P-38 was on June 18 when OC Davies completed a 45-minute familiarisation sortie. The first 60 Squadron P-38 operation, to the Rome/Naples area, took place on August 15 and ended with Lt Joubert badly damaging his aircraft on landing.

EUROPEAN SKIES

Mid-July 1943 saw the arrival of the PRU Flight’s first Mosquito PR.IX, LR411, at Ariana, Tunisia. While detached to Derna, east of Benghazi, the results of USAAF

attacks on the Romanian oilfields at Ploesti on August 1 were recorded two days later by Lt Alistair ‘Shorty’ Miller and navigator/observer Lt Bill Allison. This was one of 60 Squadron’s most celebrated achievements given the distance involved, 1,800 miles (2,860km). Unfamiliar with the Mk.IX, Miller glided back to Derna when his fuel ran out short of the North African coast. Miller and Allison completed a second successful visit to Ploesti on the 19th. This time they left from and returned to Nicosia in Cyprus. Intermittent sorties to the Ploesti and Campina oil facilities continued over the next few months. A further two Mk.IXs were on strength at the end of August. Another arrived at the beginning of September and by the end of October the total was up to nine Mosquitos, including a solitary Mk.VI which served as a courier. This coincided with a reuniting of the full squadron complement at Ariana and ushered in a period of reconnaissance sorties over Italy and the south of France. Heavy rain and frequent cloud over southern Europe meant successful ‘ops’ were more the exception than the rule. After October, the squadron moved from 285 Wing to the newly formed 336 Wing, under famed recce pilot, Wg Cdr Adrian Warburton. On November 1 the squadron broke new ground with a first sortie into Germany. Airfields March 2017 FLYPAST 39

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

PHOTO-RECONNAISSANCE

hour round trip of 1,700 miles in Mk.IX LR466. Capt Daphne was awarded the DFC in May. Both crew received a letter of special commendation. No 60 Squadron’s chief area of operations – southern, central and eastern Europe – was plagued by unfavourable weather in early March. Interceptions by enemy fighters against sorties which did take place steadily mounted. Lts Miller and Allison went missing in the Turin area on March Above

One of the P-38 Lightnings used by 60 Squadron while detached to Ariana. Right

Mosquito PR.XVI NS738 at San Severo, showing the identification striping applied to the fin and rudder. Below

The squadron on parade at Sorman, Libya, in June 1943.

at Munich, Augsburg and a large marshalling yard at Innsbruck in annexed Austria were successfully covered. Bad weather plagued ops in November and attention invariably turned to the long-awaited move to Italy. This was achieved in December, initially at Foggia while 60 Squadron awaited San Severo to be readied. Work was completed between January 2 and 4, 1944 and the unit settled into its new base. Weather continued to frustrate operations through the first half of January with crews regularly having to turn back, although occasionally points of interest on the flight home could be recorded. A mission to cover the coastal strip between Marseilles and Genoa on January 17 re-introduced the squadron to enemy fighter dangers when Lt van Rooyen was forced to take evasive action after interception north of Corsica. All aircraft were grounded for three days after Lt Hartley suffered port undercarriage collapse on landing in MM255 on the 23rd. Down-lock pins on the Mosquitos needed checking.

AUSCHWITZ IDENTIFIED

The first Mk.XVIs arrived from England on February 1, 1944. Poor weather and serviceability issues reduced the squadron’s effectiveness during the month. On the 22nd Captain Peter Daphne and Lt Alistair Rodger completed one of 60 Squadron’s finest efforts when they photographed the FockeWulf factory at Poznan, western Poland, during a six-and-a-half-

1, while Lts Rood and Wessel failed to return from the Yugoslavian coast near Zara three days later. Neither loss could be directly attributed to fighter action, but this was deemed the most likely cause. On April 4 Lt Charles Barry and his observer, Lt I MacIntyre, flew Mk.IX LR442 to four objectives in Poland. The last two runs were made over a synthetic rubber factory at Oswiecin. Unknowingly Barry and MacIntyre became the first Allied

“Barry and MacIntyre unknowingly became the first Allied pilots to photograph what would later be identified as the Auschwitz concentration camp. Interpretation of the images revealed rows of people as well as the infrastructure”

40 FLYPAST March 2017

JET ENCOUNTER

Mervis failed to return from a flight over the Marseilles area on May 13, 1944 in Mk.IX MM256.

FRIENDLY FIRE

Lt P J Stoffberg and Plt Off Andrews assess damage following an encounter with a Messerschmitt Me 262 on November 26, 1944 west of Salzburg. With the port engine out of commission, Stoffberg managed to evade the attacker and make an emergency landing at Fano.

aircrew to photograph what would later be identified as the Auschwitz concentration camp. Interpretation of the images revealed rows of people as well as the infrastructure. For decades these sensational images were credited to a unit of the USAAF. The error was only rectified following investigation by the Central Intelligence Agency in the early 1970s. Accurate flak was a standard hazard but increased encounters with fighters continued to trouble the South Africans during the 135 sorties attempted in May. Lts Joubert and

The unit’s diarist recorded: “The squadron was reduced to only six operational aircraft of which two will be due for a major overhaul within a few days. The two new Mk.XVI Mosquitos delivered on April 8 were not sufficient to make up losses… In view of the failure of the pressurisation system, the Mk.XVIs are being modified in the squadron for use as Mk.IXs.” Interception by Luftwaffe fighters tapered off in June only to be replaced by instances in which the Mosquitos were engaged by USAAF P-51 Mustangs and P-38 Lightnings. White and red diagonal stripes were painted on the tails of 60 Squadron’s aircraft to assist identification. To be fair to the enthusiastic Americans, their aircraft were equipped with VHF sets operating on frequencies outside of the capabilities of the Mosquitos. This issue had been raised at command level but appears to have received little consideration. Further Mk.XVIs arrived during July, seven being on strength by the end of the month alongside the solitary Mk.IX and a Mk.VI used for training. Several sorties to Poland were cancelled in July as the Soviet Union’s advance gained traction through the region; in their place targets in northern Europe and Czechoslovakia received increased attention.

SPECK IN THE MIRROR

Captain Salomon ‘Pi’ Pienaar and his observer, Lt Archie LockhartRoss turned on to the target line approaching Günzburg-Leipheim airfield in Germany at 30,000ft (9,145m) on August 15, 1944. Almost immediately Pienaar noticed a “speck in my rear-view mirror”. Pienaar watched the aircraft approach. As it grew larger, he pushed the throttles wide open, pressed the button to jettison the drop tanks, and turned sharply to starboard. The manoeuvre saved the South African’s lives as the attacker opened fire and blew away the Mosquito’s port aileron. Luftwaffe pilot Hauptmann Schreiber broke away for the second of 12 attacks over a period of 30 minutes. On the third assault the Mosquito crew managed to identify the enemy as a Messerschmitt Me 262 “painted silver with a large black cross below the fuselage and mainplanes and usual cross on the fuselage and swastika on the tail... The speed was phenomenal”. Pienaar managed to evade the attacker through a combination of exceptional airmanship and luck. He returned to base at San Severo, Italy where the damaged Mk.XVI NS520 was crash-landed. Both he and Lockhart-Ross were awarded DFCs for their efforts which included providing the first detailed Allied intelligence on the German jet fighter with a photograph featuring a silhouette thrown in for good measure. The squadron was struggling with operational and serviceability

Above

San Severo during the winter of 1944.

March 2017 FLYPAST 41

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

Above

A 60 Squadron Mosquito carrying wing drop tanks: both metal and wooden examples were used. Far right

Flown by Lt C J Mouton with Lt D Krynauw, PR.XVI MM390 suffered a runaway prop on landing at San Severo on July 15, 1944.

PHOTO-RECONNAISSANCE

attrition and now faced the presence of the Messerschmitt jet. Lt Reid crashed on landing at San Severo on July 19, 1944 following severe engine vibration, while Lt Hargreaves and Airman Garrow experienced the starboard wing breaking off when their aircraft flipped on to its back during a

Right

Departing Fromancona for San Severo in PR.XVI NS653 on June 13, 1945, Peter Daphne and Alistair Rodger lost an engine shortly after getting airborne and crashed. Both men walked away from the wreckage unscathed.

turn with severe starboard engine vibration on August 15. The incidents increased. Lts S C Saunders and I H Impey were killed when NS532 crashed at Gioia during an emergency landing with a failed port engine on September 2. Major Allam and Captain Roth in MM366 and Lt van der Hoff and Airman Weir in NS627 crashed on take-off on October 29 and 30 respectively following port engine failure in both instances. Lts Mouton and Krynauw failed to return from a sortie to Munich in PR.XVI NS521 on August 26, presumed to be the victims of a Me 262. PR.XVI NS656 failed to return from central Czechoslovakia with Lt Sheldon and Fg Off Snell on September 13. Of greater comfort was the fighter escort provided by USAAF P-51s 42 FLYPAST March 2017

or P-38s whenever 680 Squadron RAF or 60 Squadron ventured to Munich or central Czechoslovakia. During November and December 60 Squadron completed a mapping survey of northern Italy, as well as providing coverage of targets in southern Germany, annexed Austria and Hungary.

RETIREMENT

Mosquito PR.IX LR480 was issued to 60 Squadron at Foggia on June 8, 1944. It served a mere six months before selected for an attempt on the airspeed record between Cairo and Pretoria, South Africa. Lt-Col Owen Glynn Davies and Brigadier Peter Hingeston left Payne Field in Cairo at 0400hrs on December 14. They encountered steadily worsening weather before a landing accident at Que Que in Southern Rhodesia

(now Kwekwe, Zimbabwe,) ended the effort. This machine is preserved at the Ditsong Military History Museum at Saxonwold – see the January FlyPast. On July 15, 1945, the men of 60 Squadron were withdrawn from operations, switching to a communications role for 242 Wing until nine Mosquitos departed San Severo for the flight to South Africa on August 22. Major Daphne remained in Italy with the tenth aircraft before heading south where he joined his comrades at Zwartkop, south of Pretoria. Many personnel were demobilised in the uncertainty of the immediate post-war months. The Mosquitos were passed to 15 Air Depot for servicing and the squadron was reduced to cadre strength on January 15, 1946. There followed a posting of both men and machines to Bloemfontein, yet activities were minimal as the majority of aircraft were placed in storage. Following the death of Colonel L A Wilmot when 4801 broke-up in flight on June 26, 1947 in an accident attributed to structural failure, the remaining Mosquitos were grounded pending inspection. Four were allocated to the Bombing, Gunnery and Air Navigation School at Langebaanweg on the Cape west coast but their career was limited. South African Mosquitos were quietly ushered into retirement in 1950.

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DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

ANTI-SHIPPING

MOSQUIT GRAHAM PITCHFORK EXAMINES ANTI-SHIPPING ‘OPS’

A

rguably the most versatile aircraft of World War Two, the Mosquito began operations in a Coastal Command strike role in October 1943 when 248 Squadron received a pair of Mk.XVIIIs. They were equipped with a single 57mm Molins sixpounder cannon in place of the normal four 20mm cannons in

44 FLYPAST March 2017

the fuselage, and were known as ‘Tsetse’ Mosquitos. By the end of the year, the squadron had replaced all its Beaufighters with Mosquitos – most being FB.VIs – and began sorties over the Bay of Biscay in February 1944 from Portreath in Cornwall, attacking vessels in

ITO STRIKES in Norwegian Waters the bay and the Gironde Estuary over the next few months. In June 1944 another unit, 235 Squadron, began anti-shipping sorties with the Mosquito, joining in the hectic operations off the French coast. Within weeks of the Allied landings in Normandy in

June 1944, the Germans were driven from western France. By September enemy maritime activity had almost ceased and it was decided to transfer the two Mosquito squadrons to Banff in northeast Scotland where they could combine to mount attacks off the Norwegian coast 300 miles away, together with the Beaufighter Strike Wing at nearby Dallachy. Also arriving at Banff were Mosquitos of the Norwegian 333 Squadron which had been attacking targets off the coast of their homeland since mid-1943. The unit conducted shipping reconnaissance operations and armed ‘Rovers’ – low-level searches looking for targets of opportunity.

STRIKE WING TALENT

Germany had invaded and occupied Norway in April 1940. This proved convenient for the seaborne import of the vital Swedish iron ore essential for German industry. Over the following three years, Coastal Command developed an effective anti-shipping capability, its Beaufighter Strike Wings operating with increasing success off the Dutch and Norwegian coasts. The Mosquito squadrons at Banff

added to this important capability, concentrating their efforts off Norway and in the sea areas of the Skagerrak and Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden. Banff was handed over to Coastal Command on September 1, 1944 when Gp Capt the Honourable J W ‘Max’ Aitken DSO DFC, a Battle of Britain veteran, son of Lord Beaverbrook, and highly experienced Beaufighter pilot, assumed command. A New Zealander, Wg Cdr G D ‘Bill’ Sise DSO DFC, headed 248 Squadron and within weeks an Australian, Wg Cdr R A Atkinson DSO DFC, took command of 235 Squadron. In charge of 333 Squadron was a Norwegian, Cdr Finn Lambrechts DFC. With their expertise and detailed knowledge of the Norwegian coast and fjords, 333’s crews flew shipping reconnaissance sorties in coastal waters and as outriders ahead of the strike force.

Above

Gp Capt Max Aitken, RAF Banff’s station commander. Left

A Mosquito pulls out over the Germancontrolled ‘Lysakeer’ in the harbour at Tetgenaes.

SIX-POUNDERS

The primary weapon by this time for 235 and 248 Squadrons was the armour-piercing rocket projectile March 2017 FLYPAST 45

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

Above

Molins six-pound cannon in the nose of a Mosquito XVIII. Above right

Armourers load RPs onto a 143 Squadron Mosquito FB.VI. Below

A Mosquito FB.VI over Kraakhellesund after an attack on a Germancontrolled merchant vessel.

ANTI-SHIPPING

(RP). The units were ready for action by the middle of September 1944, and on the 14th a force of 21 Mosquitos joined the Dallachy Beaufighter Wing and headed for southern Norway. Sighting an enemy convoy south of Kristiansand, they attacked, their combined firepower of torpedoes, RPs and cannons damaging a 3,000-ton merchant ship, another of 2,500 tons and three auxiliaries. Four days later a similar formation hit two merchantmen escorted by an armed trawler. All three vessels were claimed as damaged, one seriously. The Mosquitos also flew anti-U-boat patrols and, while engaged on these sorties, successfully attacked any shipping that presented itself. On September 24, four Mosquitos from 248 Squadron, led by Sqn Ldr J Maurice DSO DFC CdeG, struck vessels in Hjelte Fjord. Six-pounder rounds, cannons and machine guns hit a 1,500-ton merchantman and an armed trawler. Both were damaged and the trawler was left blazing

46 FLYPAST March 2017

furiously. Less than an hour later, seven more Mosquitos from 248 intercepted an ‘M’-class minesweeper and an armed trawler and attacked them with the Molins gun, leaving both severely damaged. On the 28th a torpedo boat flying a German flag caught fire and sank after being hit by six-pounders and cannons, the attack concluding a very successful first month for the new Banff Wing. By October the Norwegian coast had become the focal point for antishipping operations. There were six strikes that month, the most outstanding being on the 9th when 18 Beaufighters and eight Mosquitos of the Banff Wing took off individually, crossed the North Sea in darkness and formed up at first light around flares dropped by an air-sea rescue Vickers Warwick. The formation surprised a convoy of four merchant vessels and six escorts about to enter the Egersund anchorage. The raid was brilliantly

executed, sinking three merchantmen and an escort and severely damaging the remainder. Six days later a large force of Beaufighters and Mosquitos sank a tanker and an escort near Kristiansand South. On October 21 a small force of 11 Mosquitos, four armed with the Molins gun, took on targets in the harbour at Haugesund. Two merchantmen were set on fire and seriously damaged. The Banff Wing also made three other attacks on small ships, using formations of about 20 aircraft with six-pounders and 500lb (226kg) bombs as the main weapons. Throughout October the Mosquitos of 333 Squadron provided invaluable reconnaissance reports.

OUTRIDERS

It soon became apparent that the RP-equipped Mosquito was proving its superiority over the Tsetse, so it was decided to equip all Mosquitos with RPs, although the refit programme would not be complete

Left centre

A Mosquito and a Bf 109 engaging during the fierce air battle of Lister on January 11, 1945. Left

Wg Cdr Bill Sise and his navigator, Flt Lt Ray Price, of 248 Squadron. Below left

An armed merchant ship is hit by rockets at Aalesund.

“Six-pounder rounds, cannons and machine guns hit a 1,500-ton merchantman and an armed trawler. Both were damaged and the trawler was left blazing furiously”

for a few weeks. It was also decided to fly the Mosquito and Beaufighter Wings separately to take advantage of the former’s superior range and speed. With increased activity off the Norwegian coast, the Banff Wing had expanded by the end of October. Led by Wg Cdr E H McHardy DSO DFC*, 143 Squadron transferred from the North Coates Wing on the Lincolnshire coast and its crews began converting from Beaufighters to Mosquitos. Poor weather hampered operations in November but the value of the Norwegian crews, with their experience of the coastline, stood out on November 8 when two of 333 Squadron’s Mosquitos acted as outriders flying ahead of a force of 24 Beaufighters. One of the pair sighted a number of enemy ships

in Midtugulen Fjord and led the Beaufighters over the mountains. Two merchant vessels were sunk and a third seriously damaged. Seventeen Mosquitos sighted two small coasters and barges in Sogne Loch on November 17. Bombs, RPs, six-pounders and cannons left the coasters burning fiercely.

TROOPSHIPS

By December it was clear the Germans were hurriedly moving whole divisions of the Wehrmacht southward by sea through the Kattegat for the defence of their homeland. To intercept them, the Mosquitos adopted 100-gallon (454-litre) drop tanks and modifications were made to their rocket rails to retain the capability to launch eight RPs. Despite adverse weather there

were seven wing-strength strikes by the Mosquitos. During the afternoon of December 5 a force of 34 aircraft, led by Wg Cdr Sise, located shipping in Nordgulen Fjord. The surrounding high ground called for steep dives, but six vessels were damaged – including four merchantmen, two of which, of more than 3,000 tons each, were left burning savagely while others were damaged. The force encountered fierce antiaircraft fire and one Mosquito was lost while another crash-landed on return, killing the pilot. More success came on the 12th when 22 Mosquitos, again led by Sise, used RPs against shipping in Eidsfjord: two large merchantmen were left ablaze. The next day a follow-up raid was ordered with Wg Cdr Atkinson, who had just received a Bar to his DFC, leading. As he dived at the head of the 18 Mosquitos, his aircraft took a direct hit from heavy anti-aircraft fire. He and his navigator perished. Sqn Ldr N Jackson-Smith then assumed temporary command of 235 Squadron before Wg Cdr A H Simmonds DFC arrived later in the month. Four days later 16 aircraft attacked a 5,600-ton merchant vessel in Kraakhellesund with six-pounders and RPs. There was an explosion and fire, and a huge pall of smoke could still be seen from 30 miles away on the return flight. Later it was confirmed that the ship had sunk. On Boxing Day, a dozen Mosquitos flew out after a Norwegian crew spotted two vessels moored off Liervik and March 2017 FLYPAST 47

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

Above

‘Maurice’ – Max Guedj DSO DFC, CO of 143 Squadron. Right

A Mosquito FB.VI of 143 Squadron attacks enemy shipping in Sandefjord.

ANTI-SHIPPING

radioed back a report. Led by Sqn Ldr Jackson-Smith, the force hit both ships with six-pounders and RPs, registering many hits. As the formation left the scene a large force of Focke-Wulf Fw 190s appeared and combats developed. One, and probably a second, fighter was shot down but a Mosquito failed to return. Two more successful strikes were mounted before the end of the month, but increasing numbers of German fighters turned up towards the end of 1944 and losses in the Strike Wings began to mount. Mustangs of 315 (Polish) Squadron based at Peterhead provided an escort whenever possible and on occasion the Mosquitos had to give fighter cover for the more vulnerable Beaufighters.

WINTER BLUES

On January 9, 1945 a formation of 17 Mosquitos sighted four merchantmen and three auxiliaries off Leirvik. Attacking with RP and cannon, they achieved more than 40 hits against the 5,165-ton Claus Rickmers, leaving her on fire. The Banff Wing returned on the 17th, hitting the ship again as well as other vessels. As the Mosquitos were breaking away Fw 190s intercepted them and in the ensuing combats five Mosquitos went down in one of the biggest air battles over Norway. Three were from 143 Squadron, including its newly appointed CO, Wg Cdr Maurice – the alias of Jewish Free French Max Guedj. Considered by many to be 48 FLYPAST March 2017

France’s greatest wartime pilot in the RAF, he had flown more than 150 operations. After the attack 248 Squadron relinquished its Tsetse Mosquitos. During the wing’s next strike, on the 25th, 30-plus RP hits were made on a 5,100-ton merchant vessel in Ejdsfjord. Reports later indicated the ship had sunk together with a smaller coaster. The Luftwaffe then further strengthened its fighter squadrons in southern Norway by moving units from Vaernes, near Trondheim, and RAF losses mounted. The Poles of 315 Squadron had moved south to Andrews Field (Gt Saling), Essex, replaced by 65 Squadron; the C-in-C Coastal Command asked for another Mustang unit, but it was not until mid-February that 19 Squadron arrived at Peterhead. Despite better weather in February, suitable targets remained scarce. Fifteen Banff Wing Mosquitos sank a small ship south of Leirvik and

seriously damaged a merchantman of 1,500 tons on the 21st. Disappointing results were largely due to the enemy’s use of remote and narrow fjords, making attacks more difficult, as well as the reduced daylight hours of the Norwegian winter.

SPECTACULAR SUCCESS

February 1945 saw Wg Cdr C Foxley-Norris (later ACM Sir Christopher) arrive to take command of 143 Squadron. Bill Sise of 248 was meanwhile awarded a Bar to his DSO. As the most experienced commander in the wing, Sise had led many strikes. On one occasion he led two squadrons against a convoy in Floro harbour when one of his Mosquito’s engines was set on fire by flak. He nevertheless pressed home his attack before returning 400 miles across the North Sea on the other engine. At the end of February he was

“Mustangs of 315 (Polish) Squadron based at Peterhead provided an escort whenever possible and on occasion the Mosquitos had to give fighter cover for the more vulnerable Beaufighters”

finally rested, having completed more than 150 ‘ops’. The citation for the Bar to his DSO described him as “a brilliant leader whose great gallantry and personal example and untiring efforts have done much to raise his squadrons to the highest standard of fighting efficiency”. Excellent flying weather and an abundance of targets made March one of the most successful months for the Strike Wings. Flying with drop tanks and modified RP rails, the Mosquitos could go further, enabling them to reach shipping at sea and at anchorages in the Skagerrak and Kattegat as far east as the Oslo Fjord. During the late morning of the 7th,

two outriders from 333 Squadron headed for the Skaggerak to report the weather and any targets. Thirtyfour Mosquitos led by the newly appointed CO of 248 Squadron, Wg Cdr R Orrock DFC, followed them. One of the Norwegian outriders spotted a convoy of eight heavily laden tank landing craft, which the main force attacked with RP and cannon – hitting seven, five of which sank. This spectacular success was followed by another ten days later. Thirty-one Mosquitos took off in fine weather on the 17th bound for a build-up of shipping in Aalesund, reported by 333 Squadron. Using RP and cannon, they attacked vessels

ranging in size from 1,000 to 4,000 tons, sinking a 3,000-tonner plus two other ships and damaging another. The Mosquitos encountered intense flak from shore batteries and two failed to return. One was Wg Cdr Orrock’s, hit while diving, and he was forced to ditch – he and his navigator were picked up and made prisoners of war. Jackson-Smith then took command of 248 Squadron. The same day, a Norwegian Mosquito on a reconnaissance sighted a large barge towed by a tug. The pilot made two runs with cannon before achieving a direct hit with two 500lb bombs. Debris from the ensuing explosion hit the aircraft but the crew managed to reach base.

Above

Mustangs prepare to take off from Peterhead. Below left

Wg Cdr E Pierce (right), CO of 404 Squadron RCAF and his navigator, Charles Corder CGM.

INCREASING TONNAGE

With ten Mustangs as escort, 46 Mosquitos – led by Foxley-Norris – took off on March 23 and headed for the Skaggerak. The force split, a Norwegian outrider leading one section to Stadtlandet where a merchantman was badly damaged. Escorted to Dalsfjord, Sqn Ldr R Reid’s section found the 7,854-ton Rotenfels and set it on fire. Reid took a direct hit, killing him and his navigator. The Norwegians of 333 Squadron were the first away on the 25th, heading for the coast of their homeland, seeking targets – Lt Nodeland finding a 6,000-ton tanker in Norangsfjord. Crews at Banff were duly briefed and 12 aircraft led by 235’s CO, Wg Cdr Simmonds, took off with a Mustang escort. Because of the steep cliffs in the fjord, the Mosquitos attacked in line astern, hitting the tanker and another ship. A second strike later in the afternoon included a large fighter escort of Mustang IVs, and the formation, led by Jackson-Smith, headed east for Sognefjord with Norwegian outriders ahead. March 2017 FLYPAST 49

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

ANTI-SHIPPING

Right

A German Type XXI U-boat, one of four attacked in the Kattegat on April 19, 1945.

“Despite intense return fire, he attacked and after three RP and cannon runs the submarine belched thick smoke and sank. The 13 survivors from U-843 included the captain who had been in the conning tower” On reaching the coast they were intercepted by more than 30 Luftwaffe fighters and a fierce engagement followed. The Banff Wing claimed three enemy shot down and the Mustangs accounted for at least two others. But these successes came at considerable cost: Lt Cdr Knut Skavhaugen DFC, the very experienced leader of 333 Squadron, failed to return, along with Sqn Ldr G Stewart DFC, CO of 65 Squadron. March ended with a large strike by 44 Mosquitos, led by Simmonds. Once again two Norwegian Mosquitos flew ahead, Lt T Erikson and Captain Hakon Wenger reporting a number of ships at Porsgrunn, the port used for the evacuation of German forces from Norway. The Mosquitos attacked four merchant vessels while the Mustangs silenced nearby flak batteries. Two ships went down and the 2,643-ton Scharhorn was seriously damaged. April would see no let-up in activity. Giving up its Beaufighters at Dallachy, 404 Squadron RCAF moved to Banff, having converted to the Mosquito under its CO, Wg Cdr E W Pierce. There were five attacks that month. On the 2nd, Lt Plyhn of 333 Squadron reported vessels in Sandefjord, another south coast port used for the evacuation of German troops and one of the few anchorages with repair facilities. A force of 31 aircraft, led by Jackson-Smith, hit a concentration of shipping in the port, 50 FLYPAST March 2017

mostly with RPs – sinking the 5,100ton Concordia and 3,600-ton William Blumer and damaging other large vessels and a tanker. The Norwegians of 333 had played a crucial role in seeking out targets and they continued to scour the southern fjords looking for build-ups of shipping heading for Germany. The squadron’s new CO, the recently promoted Wenger, called in a strike against a convoy in the Kattegat on April 5. Thirty-nine Mosquitos and 12 Mustangs attacked and scored many hits. Wenger’s aircraft was hit and he headed for Sweden and crashlanded. A few days later he returned to Scotland and, in May, was awarded the DFC. Intelligence later discovered that almost 900 men were lost in ships hit that day.

U-BOATS ON THE SURFACE

At this stage of the war, with heavy bombing of German ports, more minefields and Coastal Command roaming in the Baltic, the last of the U-boats tried to escape to the open sea and into the Atlantic. On April 9, a large force, led by Sqn Ldr A Gunnis DFC of 248 Squadron, headed for the Skaggerak with a Mustang escort. As the formation ran into the Kattegat, the leader saw two wakes 200 yards (182m) apart. Gunnis turned his men down-sun to attack an ‘M’-class minesweeper leading four

fully surfaced U-boats. The main force tackled the submarines in a 15° dive, pulling out at 200ft. Two sections of 143 Squadron each targeted one of the leading U-boats, scoring many hits, and one of the subs settled by the stern. By the time 248 Squadron turned in to the attack, the stricken U-boat’s bows were out of the water. After the attack came a large explosion and the ’boat disintegrated, throwing up debris which damaged some aircraft and led to the loss of a Mosquito from the RAF Film Unit and its crew. Both squadrons hit a second submarine. It turned hard starboard,

rolled over and disappeared stern first: U-804 and U-1065 were lost with all hands and Gunnis was awarded a Bar to his DFC. Soon after came another unexpected success. Fg Off A J Rendall had turned back early in the sortie to shepherd another Mosquito with a failed engine back to base. Having done so, he immediately set off to pursue the rest of the wing when, 20 miles out, he sighted another surfaced U-boat. Despite intense return fire, he attacked and after three RP and cannon runs the submarine belched thick smoke and sank. The 13 survivors from U-843 included the captain who had been in the conning tower. On April 11, after the crew of a 333 Squadron Mosquito reported more shipping activity at Porsgrunn, Simmonds led a force of 35 Mosquitos and 12 Mustangs. A Norwegian outrider guided the Mosquitos into the confines of the fjord where they succeeded in sinking four vessels. The Mustangs dealt with fighter opposition, downing two Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs and driving the rest away, while two Mosquitos failed to return, one crash-landing in Sweden. During the afternoon of the 19th, Simmonds was again leading a strong force, escorted by Mustangs, sighting an ‘M’-class minesweeper leading four surfaced U-boats in line astern. The Mosquitos set up an attack across the sun, firing RPs in a 10° dive. After hitting the submarines, smoke poured from one as some of the crew took to dinghies. Of the four, U-251 sank with all hands and

U-2335 limped into Kristiansand with extensive damage. Light flak had come from the U-boats and two Mosquitos made forced landings in Denmark and Sweden. Out in strength on April 21, the wing was returning from an uneventful anti-shipping patrol in the Kattegat when the leader, FoxleyNorris, released the Mustang escorts, which headed for home. Within minutes, 18 torpedo-carrying Junkers Ju 88s and Heinkel He 111s were seen approaching the Scottish coast. The Mosquitos destroyed nine before the rest gained the sanctuary of the clouds.

NO LET UP

As the war reached its climax in Germany, there was always the risk that German forces, still in control in Denmark and Norway, would attempt to prolong it. So there was no let-up for the Strike Wings as they harried shipping in the Skaggerak and the Kattegat. By now the Banff Wing had five Mosquito squadrons: 143, 235, 248, 333 (Norwegian) and 404 (RCAF). Early on the morning of May 2, reports came in that U-boats were moving north in the Kattegat. Thirty-five aircraft, led by Sqn Ldr A G Deck DFC, took off, met their Mustang escort off Peterhead and headed east. In the target area they saw two surfaced small coastal U-boats of Type XXIII, and seven Mosquitos of 143 Squadron attacked, scoring at least 12 hits on one. Four of 245 Squadron’s crews hit the second submarine, and much debris was thrown in the air. Shortly afterwards, the holed U-2359, which was just four months old, sank, while

the second U-boot escaped with severe damage. Mosquitos of 333 and 404 Squadrons stood off to provide cover. The Banff Wing’s final strike came on May 4. Led by Foxley-Norris, soon to receive the DSO, more than 40 Mosquitos took part. Sighting two large merchantmen, a frigate and a flak ship north of Aarhus in the Kattegat, the Mosquitos sank the 3,000-ton Wolfgang and three escorts, badly damaging another large ship and two other escorts. Group Captain Aitken had permission to take part in this last strike, completing a unique double by flying on the first day of the war as well as the wing’s last operation. In relating the role of the Mosquitos over Norway, it should be remembered that their neighbours at Dallachy and the North Coates Wing, each flying Beaufighters, made an equally impressive contribution to the anti-shipping war. In his final Despatch, the C-in-C of Coastal Command, AM Sir William Sholto Douglas, wrote: “The combination of all forms of anti-shipping attack, their continuity and the extent to which they have been pressed home, have achieved results which could hardly have been anticipated.” Attacking enemy shipping and the supply routes for vital raw materials for German industry was dangerous work. The Mosquito men paid a heavy price but their skill and courage played a crucial role in the eventual collapse of the German war machine.

Below

A rocket-armed Mosquito FB.VI of 404 Squadron. ALL VIA AUTHOR UNLESS NOTED

The author thanks Lee Barton of the Air Historical Branch for his help during the research for this article.

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17/01/2017 11:12

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

NIGHT-FIGHTER

NIGHT Hunters

WITH NO LESS THAN 20 ‘ACES’ IN THE UNIT, 85 SQUADRON WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MOSQUITO NIGHT-FIGHTER UNITS, AS ANDREW THOMAS DESCRIBES Above

The distinctive hexagon badge of 85 Squadron. The Latin motto ‘Noctu diuque Venamur’, translates as: ‘We hunt by day and night.’ ALL VIA AUTHOR

Above right

Just west of Essen on the night of December 12, 1944, Sqn Ldr Branse Burbridge and Flt Lt Bill Skelton shot down this Bf 110G-4. B A BURBRIDGE

T

he arrival of a single Mosquito II, W4087, gave 85 Squadron, equipped with Douglas Havoc night-fighters, a fleeting taste of the future on February18, 1942. The aircraft arrived for trials with the unit, which was based at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire and led by Wg Cdr Gordon Raphael. The de Havilland twin had been modified with a Turbinlite searchlight fitted into the nose. In this guise, the elegant Mosquito was given an adverse report and W4087 was returned to 1422 Flight at Heston, Middlesex. The unit continued to use the bulky Douglas twins until August 15 when Mosquito II

54 FLYPAST March 2017

DD718 arrived. Conversion to the Mosquito began, this time without the impractical Turbinlite. By mid-September training had reached the stage where pilot and navigator could start to work as a team. On the 17th Fg Off Branse Burbridge DSO* DFC* and Sgt Webster took off in H-for-Harry for ground-controlled interception (GCI) practice. In the early hours of October 19, more than 30 enemy aircraft raided East Anglia and 85 began its first action with the Mosquito. Flt Lt Nigel Bunting attacked and damaged a Junkers Ju 88, which limped away smoking.

FIRST VICTORY

It was not until the night of January 17/18, 1943 that 85 Squadron claimed the first of its many victories with the Mosquito. Appropriately it was the CO, Sqn Ldr Gordon Raphael, and his navigator W/O Nat Addison, who shot down a pathfinder Ju 88 of Kampfgeschwader 6 (KG 6). A few days later Raphael handed over command to a night-fighting legend – Wg Cdr John Cunningham who arrived with his long-time navigator, Flt Lt Jimmy Rawnsley.

“With Britain’s night defences, increasingly in the form of highperformance Mosquitos, taking an unacceptable toll of enemy raiders, the Luftwaffe introduced single-seat Focke-Wulf Fw 190A fighter-bombers”

Enemy raids continued, but when 40 aircraft attacked London on March 3, 85’s crews had no joy. That month the unit formed ‘C’ Flight for high-altitude operational trials with three specially modified Mk.XVs. On April 10 Flt Lt Bunting in MP469 reached 44,600ft but by August the high-flyers had been withdrawn. Also during March, the unit began receiving Mosquito XIIs fitted with airborne interception (AI) Mk.VIII radar antenna housed in a nose-mounted ‘thimble’. The first Mk.XII victory came on the night of April 14/15 when Sqn Ldr Peter Green in F-for-Freddie shot down Dornier Do 217E ‘F8+AM’ from KG 40 off Clacton, Essex. Also successful that night was Flt Lt Geoff Howitt and navigator Fg Off George Irving, who downed Uffz Tannenberger’s Do 217 ‘U5+DP’ of 6/KG 2 into the sea also off Clacton.

SCHNELLBOMBERS

With Britain’s night defences, increasingly in the form of highperformance Mosquitos, taking an unacceptable toll of enemy raiders, the Luftwaffe introduced singleseat Focke-Wulf Fw 190A fighterbombers. These Schnellbombers (fast bombers) were intended to penetrate the defences and assault targets in southern England. The Fw 190s were operated by Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (SKG 10). As a counter to this new threat, 85 Squadron moved to West Malling, Kent, on May 13, 1943. Three nights later I/SKG 10’s Focke-Wulfs

approached at low level over the Channel. Sqn Ldr Green flying with F/Sgt Grimstone dispatched the first Fw 190 Schnellbomber to fall over England, engaging their victim near Dover while Flt Lt Howitt claimed another south of Hastings. Chasing a third Fw 190 towards the French coast, Fg Off Bernard Thwaites with Plt Off Bill Clemo flying L-for-London, were recalled. The pair then spotted their prey as it passed them - they had overtaken it. Closing to 50 yards (45m) Thwaites sent it into the sea, although London was damaged by debris from the doomed fighter.

Above

Mosquito XII HK119 of 85 Squadron lifts off from Hunsdon, mid1943. J D R RAWLINGS

March 2017 FLYPAST 55

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

NIGHT-FIGHTER

attack, it just turned over and went into the sea with a terrific splash. Sadly, there was no sign of the pilot.” A week later Lintott and Gilling-Lax in HK119 brought down the first of the fast Ju 88Ss to fall over England, ‘NL+EX’ of I/KG 66 near Lewes in East Sussex. The pair had to climb to 29,000ft before gaining contact. Apparently they hit the bomber’s nitrous oxide tanks, which exploded. Sadly these rising stars were lost on the night of July 9/10 after claiming a Do 217 near Detling, Kent.

Above

The unit’s first confirmed victory with the Mosquito was claimed by 85’s CO Wg Cdr Gordon Raphael on January 17, 1943. VIA C F SHORES

Above right

Sqn Ldr Bill Maguire, 85 Squadron, 1944. A J BROOKES

Thwaites and Clemo fired on another ’190 and were able to claim it as a ‘probable’, although this appears to have later been upgraded by HQ Fighter Command. Fg Off Shaw bagged another for 85’s impressive tally. Fears of the Schnellbomber threat had been dramatically dispelled. A couple of nights later one of the unit’s promising teams, Fg Off John Lintott and Sgt George Gilling-Lax shot down another Fw 190A, from 2/SKG 10, one of 13 that were raiding the South East. This almost personal battle with SKG 10 continued in the early hours of May 22 when Sqn Ldr Edward Crew was scrambled to the southeast by GCI. He reported: “We ended up at about 3,000ft and, with no joy, were about to give up the chase when we gained an AI contact well below and off to our starboard. “I immediately reduced speed and descended and spotted the moon reflecting off his canopy! I positioned below and behind and identified it as a Focke-Wulf 190 – a tricky opponent. “I got in about 100 yards behind him and fired a short burst with the immediate effect of causing a large flash following which it turned as I fired again, this causing one of his undercarriage legs to fall down. “As I was positioning for another

56 FLYPAST March 2017

CUNNINGHAM’S OPENER

On the night of June 13/14, 1943, Wg Cdr Cunningham, 85’s CO, with navigator Flt Lt Rawnsley made their first claim on the Mosquito. Flying DZ302 they attacked Lt Ulrich’s Fw 190 of 3/ SKG 10 at 23,000ft. Using just 20 rounds, Cunningham must have hit the fighter’s controls as it reared upwards, flicked and fell near Wrotham, Kent. Ulrich survived to become a prisoner of war. Raids by Fw 190s continued through the month. On June 21 three penetrated as far as London but 85’s Flt Lt Bill Maguire shot

down ‘GP+LA’ of 2/SKG 10; it crashed into the Medway estuary. A few weeks later a fast new Luftwaffe bomber made its appearance in English skies in the elegant shape of the Messerschmitt Me 410. On July 13 one came in over Dover and Bunting tracked it towards the Essex coast, picking out the glow of the exhaust. Closing to 200 yards Bunting opened fire from below and critically hit ‘U5+KG’ of V/KG 2. It went vertically into the sea off Felixstowe, Suffolk – the first of its type brought down over Britain. Two nights later, Thwaites shot down another, ‘U5+CJ’.

FIRST ‘ACE’

Countering the small-scale intrusions continued through the summer and the highly effective night defences took a steady toll. Thwaites and Clemo were victorious again on the night of September 8, 1943 on a patrol off Foreland, Kent. Vectored onto a contact about 15 miles (24km) away, while closing in Thwaites gained a fleeting visual contact with a Fw 190 carrying long-range tanks. Easing the nose back, he opened fire from dead

astern at 80 yards and had the satisfaction of seeing the fuselage and engine burst into flames; it fell away in a spin to crash into the sea. With virtually no time to congratulate themselves, they were quickly directed to another enemy 8 miles away. Eventually Clemo gained a contact, which turned out to be a violently evading Fw 190. It went into a steady climb and from astern Thwaites once more brought the Mosquito’s nose up and opened fire from 100 yards. Flames ran along the Fw 190’s wings and fuselage before it fell away and crashed into the sea. Thwaites had become the first pilot in Fighter Command to claim five victories on the Mosquito. Shortly before on September 2, Fg Offs Burbridge and Bill Skelton had their first trip together in a Mosquito. It was the start of what was to be the most successful RAF night-fighting team of the war. Their first contact with the Luftwaffe came on October 17, but having just gained a ‘visual’ they suffered a cutting starboard engine and had to disengage. During October Luftwaffe raiders struck on 21 nights, 500 sorties, all

against London. The Ju 188 was introduced to the fray. The heaviest raid came on the night of the 7th/8th when 85’s ‘A’ Flight mounted eight defensive sorties. Sqn Ldr Maguire in E-forEasy had a lengthy fight with a Me 410, possibly 10185 ‘U5+KG’ of 16/KG 2. Spotting the enemy 900ft below him, Maguire dived but after a hectic combat lost it near Hastings, East Sussex; although another crew saw it fall into the sea. A week later Maguire brought down Ju 188 ‘3E+BL’ of I/G 66 near Woodbridge, Suffolk, and Fg Off Hugh Thomas took out ‘3E+HH’ at Birchington, Kent. Over the next three weeks the Luftwaffe lost 28 aircraft to the increasingly efficient defences. The margin of performance by the Mosquito was relatively small against the new fast raiders, so skilful flying and use of AI was essential to achieve success.

Below

Mosquito XVII HK352 taxiing at West Malling, early 1944. VIA C F SHORES

‘BABY BLITZ’

On the second night of the New Year, Cunningham and Rawnsley were flying Mk.XII HK374 which had a trial fit with nitrous oxide injection to boost performance,

“As I was positioning for another attack, it just turned over and went into the sea with a terrific splash. Sadly, there was no sign of the pilot”

March 2017 FLYPAST 57

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

NIGHT-FIGHTER

Right

Wg Cdr Branse Burbridge, right, who attributed much of this success to his navigator and lifelong friend, Sqn Ldr Bill Skelton. B A BURBRIDGE Right centre

Wg Cdr John Cunningham (right) and his navigator, Flt Lt Jimmy Rawnsley. VIA C F SHORES

Below

With its distinctive extended wing tips, high altitude Mosquito XV DZ385 was one of a few that served with 85 Squadron’s ‘C’ Flight. A&AEE

and destroyed a Me 410 off Le Touquet. This was Cunningham’s final confirmed victory, the bulk having been achieved on Beaufighters. There were sterner tests ahead for the RAF nightfighter force.

Right

Fg Off ‘Ginger’ Owen’s first claim with 85 Squadron was a V-1 flyingbomb. A J OWEN

On the night of January 21/22, 1944 the Luftwaffe launched the Operation ‘Steinbock’ (Capricorn) offensive against London with 447 sorties. This episode became known to the British as the ‘Baby Blitz’. That night 85 launched four of its Mk.XVIIs against the raid. The unit had re-equipped with the new variant the previous November. It was the end of January when the next big assault occurred and there were eight sizeable attacks during February. By then the Luftwaffe was making extensive use of ‘Window’, radar-reflecting foil strips, which made the night-fighters’ task more complex. On February 23 around 60 bombers headed for London. In the early hours Flt Lts Burbridge and Skelton in Y-for-Yoke were nearing the end of their patrol from West Malling when they had a contact. Branse Burbridge described it to the author: “After a frustrating sortie we were over the sea and heading back home when Bill gained an AI contact, so I quickly pulled into a

58 FLYPAST March 2017

starboard turn and descended and eventually saw a Messerschmitt 410. “I managed to get directly behind him and gave a long burst and, as I had not got this close since my Havoc days, I wanted to make sure of it. I need not have worried as its left hand engine promptly

burst into flames, which quickly spread and with a mixture of sadness and elation we saw it explode with considerable violence and go down. “After the first hits Bill and I saw one of the crew bale out and he went just over the top of us. I was glad that someone did get out. That was my first one.”

FLYING BOMBS

Attacks continued through March and into April 1944; for example on March 14 about 140 enemy aircraft were operating over England. Despite the best efforts of the Luftwaffe, the night skies over England had been well defended during the build up to the invasion. Bomber Command suffered its greatest loss of the war on the night of March 30/31 in the skies around Nuremberg: 95 bombers failed to return. In the wake of this raid it was decided to allocate further Mosquito night-fighter squadrons to 100 Group for bomber support. Accordingly, 85 Squadron moved to Swannington, Norfolk, on May 1.

From its new base 85 began operations over the Continent hunting Luftwaffe nightfighters in their own backyard. Wg Cdr Charles Miller had assumed command in March, and appropriately he opened the squadron’s ‘book’ in its new role in Mosquito XIX MM642 on June 11 by downing a Bf 110 near Melun airfield in France. One of the enemy responses to the invasion of France was to begin, on June 12, launching large numbers of V-1 flying-bombs against towns and cities in the south of England. These weapons were referred to as ‘Divers’ by the RAF and a number of Mosquito night-fighter units were tasked to ‘anti-Diver’ duties through the summer.

following the explosion of a missile so, to compensate, we resorted to closing one eye before opening fire.” From Swannington, 85 returned to West Malling on July 21 to be closer to the action. Fg Off Phillip Kendall brought down a V-1 on the 27th while the following night Fg Off Dickie Goucher and Sqn Ldr Maguire each bagged one over the Channel. Flying Mk.XIX TA400 on the night of August 4/5 were Fg Offs ‘Ginger’ Owen and McAllister. At 9,000ft over Kent they spotted a V-1 and fired a short burst causing it to crash near Tenterden. In all 85’s crews claimed 39 and a half V-1s before the crisis passed. The unit

Left

Norwegian Capt Svein Heglund joined 85 Squadron in 1944. N MATHISRUD

WG CDR BRANSE BURBRIDGE As this feature was being prepared we learned of the death of Wg Cdr Branse Burbridge. He was the most successful Mosquito and Allied night-fighter pilot of World War Two. Burbridge left the RAF soon after the war and went to Oxford University to read history. A committed Christian, he served the Christian Scripture Union for the rest of his working life. A kind, gentle and modest man, Branse Burbridge passed away aged 95 after a long illness on November 9, 2016. Branse Burbridge in 1942.

In June, 85 Squadron switched from supporting the 100 Group’s bomber campaign and initially flew patrols against V-1s from Swannington. On the night of the 25th one of 85’s Norwegian pilots, Capt Tarald Weisteen, flying MM636 brought down the unit’s first ‘Diver’. With seven destroyed, Weisteen became 85’s most successful pilot against the flyingbombs. On the night of July 18/19 Burbridge with Skelton were on patrol and chased two V-1s, being credited with one destroyed. Burbridge recalled a problem of night V-1 operations: “One difficulty was loss of night vision

returned to Norfolk to resume its bomber support activities over the Continent in late August.

HUNDRED UP

Above

Flt Lt Bernard Thwaites was one of 85 Squadron’s nightfighting elite. 85 SQN

Branse Burbridge, who had been promoted to squadron leader, and Flt Lt Skelton claimed a night-fighter over the Baltic on September 11, 1944. This was probably Ju 88G-1 712195 ‘D9+BH’ of Nachtjagdgeschwader 7 (NJG 7) flown by Fw Reinold Schemmer and crew, who were lost. At Swannington 85 received a considerable boost when Capt Svein Heglund, the most successful Norwegian Spitfire pilot, arrived. The first of his three night victories came on December 5 as he recorded: “Escort for bombers bombing Karlsruhe and Heilbronn. Picked up several contacts around airfield east of target, but most seemed to be friendly. Bombing very good. “Got contact on ‘Hun’ aircraft northeast of Heilbronn. Chased it for ten minutes. Very dark and

RECORDS

March 2017 FLYPAST 59

DE HAVILL AND MOSQUITO

NIGHT-FIGHTER

NINE YEARS OF MOSQUITOS

Mosquito NF.36 RL148 resplendent in colourful 85 Squadron markings at West Malling in mid-1951. M J F BOWYER

At the end of the war 85 Squadron, under Wg Cdr W K Davison, was retained as a permanent part of Fighter Command. Initially based at Tangmere, Sussex, with Mosquito NF.36s, in April 1947, by which time Sqn Ldr P F Allen was at the helm, 85 returned to West Malling where it remained for many years. Under Sqn Ldr W A Griffiths the unit soldiered on into 1951 by which time its Mosquitos were decorated with red and black chequer markings. The first Gloster Meteor NF.11s began arriving in September 1951 and on November 9 the departure of NF.36s RL213 and RL255 brought an end to 85 Squadron’s nine-year Mosquito era. Above right

Aircrew of 85 Squadron’s ‘A’ Flight at West Malling in 1943. 85 SQN RECORDS Below

Mosquito XXX NT484 of 85 Squadron at Swannington in the spring of 1945.

overshot it three times. Shot it down in flames east of Heilbronn. We were shot at and hit by flak over Brüxelles. They thought us a ‘Doodlebug’. One Me 110 destroyed” Another of 85’s pilots claimed the same night when Flt Lt Goucher dispatched two Bf 110s giving each several short bursts. Flt Lt Owen’s victory against a Ju 88 over Krefeld was 85 Squadron’s century! Burbridge and Skelton destroyed a Bf 110G-4 of 3/NJG 6 captained by Obfw Pleige on the night of December 22 during a raid on Krefeld. That night the laurels went to ‘Ginger’ Owen, who brought down a Bf 110 and two Ju 88s - the new AI Mk.X fitted to the unit’s Mosquito XXXs was clearly of benefit.

LAST ACE

On the evening of New Year’s Day 1945, during a raid against the Ruhr, Flt Lts Goucher and ‘Tiny’ Bullock

60 FLYPAST March 2017

shot down a Ju 88 after a lengthy chase. They found another contact northeast of Dortmund and fired a long burst from behind; Ju 88G ‘2Z+CP’ of 5/NJG 6 exploded. This was Goucher’s fifth success in less than a month. Debris from the second victim hit his Mosquito and they had to struggle back on one engine, making an emergency landing at Brussels. Burbridge and Skelton downed a Ju 88 southwest of Ludwigshafen on January 2. This was Burbridge’s 21st victory, making him the RAF’s most successful night-fighter pilot. He recalled the combat to the author: “Flying west of Mannheim, Bill Skelton obtained a contact off to starboard at about our level, some 15,000ft. We closed in behind the aircraft that was weaving gently and flying towards the target, Nuremburg. “Bill identified it though our binoculars as a Ju 88, so I closed in and gave a short burst of no more than a half second that set the fuselage on fire. It then spiralled down in flames, breaking into three distinct burning pieces to explode in the ground. On return I found that we had fired just two dozen rounds.” Having claimed his first ‘kill’ in October 1943 Flt Lt Hugh Thomas bagged his fifth, a Ju 88, west of Lutzkendorf on April 8, becoming the

last RAF night-fighter ace of the war. In his combat report Thomas said: “I saw an aircraft going down in flames and I decided that there was a fair chance of there being at least one ‘Hun’ in the area – and this proved to be the case, for within a few seconds we had an AI contact slightly below us. “We turned in behind it and followed it from about 800ft, I could identify it clearly as a Ju 88. I fired one burst dead astern with no deflection and this produced a very bright explosion and caused it to shed pieces and lose speed very quickly. “I orbited port and awaited the prang. This occurred in a very satisfactory manner when it hit the ground with a beautiful explosion over the Thuringian Plain.” This was brief glory for Thomas. On April 13 he was shot down by a Luftwaffe night-fighter. He baled out to become a prisoner of war. Sadly, his navigator, Fg Off Charles Hamilton, landed in the sea and was lost. With the Third Reich disintegrating, things began to run down with the unit flying its last ‘ops’ of war on the night of May 2. One of the leading Mosquito units, 85 Squadron had among its alumni some of the most successful nightfighter pilots of the war, including no fewer than 20 aces.

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Spotlight Grumman

Wildcat

17 Pages in detail

66 Origin and history 68 Men behind the machine 74 Wildcat in profile 76 In combat - the Grumman at war

Main picture

A Grumman Martlet in service with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm during World War Two. KEY COLLECTION

This month, we focus our Spotlight on one of the legendary carrier-based fighters of World War Two’s Pacific campaign – the robust and reliable Grumman F4F Wildcat. The aircraft served both the US Navy and Marine Corps, and from 1940 the Royal Navy (as the Martlet). It was first used in combat by the British in Europe, and later won fame in the Pacific. Wildcats continued to be built throughout the war; we reflect on the type’s history.

Spotlight Grumman Wildcat

Scrutinizes the history of...

Wildcat A The Grumman

Above

Grumman Martlet Mk.I AL257 flew with the Fleet Air Arm’s 804 Squadron during World War Two. BOTH KEY COLLECTION

major contributor to US success in World War Two’s Pacific theatre, and a popular machine in British Fleet Air Arm hands, the Grumman Wildcat was a reliable and robust aircraft which led to the development of the even more effective Hellcat. Despite its somewhat ungainly appearance, the Wildcat was more than a match for enemy aircraft, providing the foe did not have the advantage of complete surprise. Although it had nothing like the manoeuvrability of its primary Japanese opponent, the Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’, in the right hands it could be a devastating weapon. As the US Navy’s sole carrierbased fighter until mid-1943, the Wildcat achieved outstanding results. Its shortcomings in handling and performance were rectified by Grumman with the arrival of the Hellcat later that year, by which time the older type had established itself as one of greatest naval fighters of the war. The Wildcat was not initially regarded with much optimism by the military. The original design did not impress its prospective employers, a production contract

66 FLYPAST March 2017

instead being awarded to the Brewster Buffalo.

Slow start

Grumman had based the monoplane on its previous long line of successful naval biplanes, and flew the XF4F2 prototype for the first time on September 2, 1937. Powered by a 1,050hp (783kW) Twin Wasp radial, the first Wildcat could not match the Buffalo. Undeterred, Grumman undertook a significant redesign and fitted a supercharged version of the Twin Wasp to the much improved XF4F3 – which, also benefiting from major modifications to the tail and wings, launched in February 1939. The first production model, the F4F-3, flew almost exactly a year later, followed quickly by the upgraded F4F-4. Equipped with six Browning machine guns, two more than its predecessor, it had a wingfolding mechanism for carrier-borne operations. Both aircraft were powered by 1,200hp Pratt & Whitney engines. General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft division began to produce Wildcats from 1942, all of which were given the designation FM in place of F4F. The FM-1, the equivalent to the F4F-4, first flew in August that year

and the mass-produced FM-2, which followed in November, became the most numerous Wildcat variant, with more than 4,750 produced.

Naval hero

The Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm had the distinction of being the type’s first user. The fighter was known as the Martlet in British hands, although the name Wildcat was used from early 1944. The RN received its first examples in July 1940 from a diverted French order, but eventually operated more than 1,100, using them in the Atlantic and Mediterranean from carriers and in North Africa from land. The Martlet Mk.I had a Wright Cyclone engine and the Mk.II a Pratt & Whitney unit. The final variant to serve the Fleet Air Arm was the Wildcat Mk.VI (the General Motors-built FM-2). In American hands, the Wildcat was the only effective fighter available to both the US Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific during 1941 and 1942. While it was clearly outperformed by the Japanese ‘Zero’, it could more than hold its own thanks to its relatively heavy armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. The Grumman proved an intensely

SPOT FACT Wildcat production continued until 1943

Origin & history

Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat

AT A GLANCE: RANGE (miles) 0

200

400

600

800 700

AT A GLANCE: SPEED (mph) 0

100

200

300

400

320

Construction: First Flight: Powerplant: Dimension: Weight: Performance:

AT A GLANCE: CEILING (feet) 0

10,000

20,000

30,000 34,900

40,000

Armament: Crew:

A total of 7,885 were built, including 1,168 F4F-4s. The XF4F-2 Wildcat prototype first flew on September 2, 1937, but the first production aircraft did not fly until February 1940. One 1,200hp (895kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engine. Span 38ft 0in (11.58m). Length 28ft 9in. Height 11ft 10in. Wing area 260 sq ft (24.2m2). Empty 5,895lb (2,674kg). Loaded 7,952lb. Max speed 320mph (515km/h) at 18,800ft (5,730m). Service ceiling 34,900ft. Initial climb 1,950ft per min. Range 770 miles (1,239km). Six 0.50in Browning machine guns, plus provision for two 250lb (113kg) bombs under wings. One.

Note: performance and weights varied according to role and configuration.

difficult aircraft to shoot down, unlike the comparatively frail ‘Zero’. If US pilots employed superior tactics, they could often get the better of the Japanese, and Wildcat units played key roles in the defence of Wake Island in 1941, in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway and in the Guadalcanal campaign of 1942 to 1943. General Motors continued to

15,553

produce the aircraft even after Grumman had switched to the Hellcat, and Wildcats were used in anger as late as October 1944 when they strafed enemy warships in the Philippine Sea alongside Grumman Avenger torpedo-bombers. Although the F4F is not as celebrated as some World War Two fighters, it certainly impressed those

who mattered most – the pilots and ground crews. Legendary British aviator Capt Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was among many who vouched for it. “I would assess the Wildcat as the outstanding naval fighter of the early years of World War Two,” he said. “This Grumman fighter was one of the finest shipboard aeroplanes ever created.”

Below

FAA Martlets battle high winds aboard HMS ‘Illustrious’ in March 1944.

combat sorties were flown by Wildcats March 2017 FLYPAST 67

Spotlight Grumman Wildcat

Turning

the Tide Warren E Thompson describes the exploits of some of the American Wildcat ‘aces’, including three Medal of Honor holders

‘B

utch’ and his wingman took off from the deck of the USS Lexington, knowing they were the carrier’s last line of aerial defence. The ‘flat top’ and its escorts had been spotted by an enemy flying boat on February 20, 1942 as they made their way to carry out a strike at Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. The position and course of the task force was reported and the Japanese rushed to engage

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the ships long before they reached their objective. Two F4F Wildcats had been on standing patrol when the Kawanishi H6K4 Mavis was spotted. It was shot down immediately, but not before its vital message had been transmitted. Both sides had taken a mauling in the first clash and the men of the task force assessed the damage, the carrier’s radar plotted a second wave - three ‘vics’ of three bombers heading for the fleet.

6

Martlets

ser

lets

SPOT FACT The Fleet Air Arm and French Navy ordered Wildcats before the US Navy

‘Ace’ in a day

Lt Edward H ‘Butch’ O’Hare and Lt Marion W ‘Duff ’ Dufilho, were first away from the Lexington. They were flying F4F-3s of VF-3, famed for its adoption of the cartoon character ‘Felix the Cat’ clutching a bomb for its squadron badge. The Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers were just 12 miles out, other Wildcats launching

but the enemy would be overhead the carrier by the time they were airborne. Dufilho’s guns jammed, leaving only St Louis-born O’Hare to protect the Lexington. He had four 50-cal machine guns each loaded with 450 rounds, giving him a total of 34 seconds of firing. O’Hare’s initial manoeuvre was a high-side diving attack employing accurate deflection shooting, which gave him the advantage over the bomber’s guns. Slugs from the F4F’s guns converged on the Betty’s wing and its starboard engine fell out of its mountings. It spun out of control towards the water. Seconds later, O’Hare concentrated on a bomber on the opposite side of the vic, smashing its port engine. One by one, he hit the oncoming bombers until five had been downed. Butch was out of ammunition and too busy to notice, but he had just become the US Navy’s first ‘ace’ of World War Two. In the meantime, Cdr John S ‘Jimmy’ Thach and the rest of VF-3’s Wildcats had joined the fight. Thach had witnessed

Men Behind the Wildcat three Japanese bombers going down in flames as the result of O’Hare’s actions. The surviving Bettys were engaged by the anti-aircraft guns of the US task force and Thach’s F4Fs. All of the bombers missed their targets. Upon return to the carrier, Thach discovered that O’Hare had used about 60 rounds of ammunition for each of the five ‘kills’ he had made. For his remarkable single-handed defence of the Lexington, O’Hare was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first of the war for a Navy airman, and promoted to lieutenant commander. (See the panel on page 71 for more.)

Left

Lt Butch O’Hare by his Wildcat in 1942. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Below

The deck of the USS ‘Enterprise’ packed with F4F-3s and SBDs in 1942. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Hook and bait

O’Hare met up with Jimmy Thach in the early 1940s when he joined VF-3. Thach made Butch his wingman and set about teaching him everything he knew about aerial combat. Born in Arkansas in 1905, Thach spent the 1930s as a test pilot and established a reputation as a gunnery expert. By the time that World War Two began, Thach was one of the

served aboard converted former German merchant vessel HMS Audacity in 1941 March 2017 FLYPAST 69

SPOT FACT A Martlet scored the first victory by a US-built fighter in British service in World War Two

Right

The Grumman factory at Bethpage, New York, in late 1941 As well as F4F-4s, there are Goose flying boats in production; the example in the foreground destined for the RAF. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

US Navy’s leading pilots. He had developed the ‘Thach Weave’ which Navy and Marine pilots adopted. Thach described the gambit as a simple means of defence: “When a pair of Navy fighters was attacked by a more manoeuvrable opponent, the fighter being attacked would become the ‘bait’ while his wingman would become the ‘hook’.” The hook and bait would turn in towards each other to cross paths and when they had flown for long enough on a divergent course, would turn back and cross paths again. If successfully executed, the bait would cross in front of the nose of the hook

121 headed for Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, where they headed up what became known as the ‘Cactus Air Force’. As executive officer of VMF-121, Foss would normally lead two flights of four Wildcats, quickly nicknamed ‘Foss’s Flying Circus’. Between them the ‘circus’ racked up a total of 60 victories. On October 13, 1942, Foss led a dozen F4Fs to intercept 32 enemy bombers and fighters. In his first Above

One of the first F4F-3s to come off the line in mid-1941. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Right

Maintenance on a VF-3 Wildcat in the hangar deck, late 1941. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

with the enemy fighter on his tail, allowing the hook to eliminate the opposition. The weave was tested in anger during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 where it yielded impressive results. While defending the Lexington, VF-3 destroyed 19 Japanese aircraft. During the Battle of Midway, the tactic was used to even greater effect. By then VF-3 had been re-equipped with the newer F4F-4, which Thach was not happy with. While it had increased firepower, this came with a decrease in performance. Thach would have preferred every last bit of speed and agility for his pilots rather than two more guns. Thach was credited with three Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zeros’ destroyed in a single engagement on June 4, 1942, and a Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedobomber later that day. By the end of Midway, Thach had clocked up six enemy aircraft destroyed.

Swivel-Neck Joe

Captain Joseph J ‘Joe’ Foss was flying off the deck of the escort carrier USS Copahee on October 9, 1942 when the F4Fs of VMF-

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“While the F4F-4 had increased firepower, this came with a decrease in performance. Thach would have preferred every last bit of speed and agility for his pilots rather than two more guns”

Men Behind the Wildcat

Terminal 2 Tribute Lt Cdr Edward H ‘Butch’ O’Hare was born in St Louis, Missouri, and spent his teenage years in Chicago, Illinois. In September 1949 the city paid tribute to the Medal of Honor holder by naming its main airport Chicago O’Hare International. A Wildcat representing Butch O'Hare's aircraft at After returning from the Pacific, O’Hare Chicago O'Hare International Airport. made several tours encouraging patriotic Americans to purchase war bonds until late 1943, when he went back into action. He flew F6F Hellcats on strikes against Wake Island and then was involved with the ‘Black Panthers’, using F6Fs in association with radar-equipped Avengers in hunter-killer night interceptions from carriers. O’Hare was declared missing in action on a night mission to intercept a G4M Betty on November 26, 1943, he was 29. On the last day of March 1944, F4F-3 12320 was flying off the training carrier USS Sable on Lake Michigan, when it encountered difficulties and ditched to the north of Chicago. The Wildcat was salvaged in 1992 on behalf of what became the National Naval Aviation Museum. In 1998 it was given the colours of Butch O’Hare’s aircraft of his ace-in-a-day exploit of February 20, 1942 and placed on display in Terminal 2 of Chicago O’Hare International Airport. A General Motors-built FM-2 Wildcat over the training carrier USS ‘Sable’ in 1945. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

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combat, a ‘Zero’ bounced him and overshot, allowing Foss to fire a good burst and get his first kill. Instantly three more A6Ms were on him and he barely made it back to his base with his F4F dripping oil. He commented afterwards: “You can call me ‘Swivel-Neck Joe’ from now on.” Foss followed the tactics of Lt. Colonel H W ‘Joe’ Bauer: getting in close, so close that another pilot joked that he left powder burns on his targets! While Foss was intercepting a flight of enemy bombers on October 14, his engine started to play up and he took to the clouds. Suddenly a F4F flew past him followed closely by a Zero. Joe cut loose and shot the Japanese fighter’s wing off - his second kill in two days. On November 7, Foss followed several F4Fs to attack a group of Japanese destroyers that were covered by six Nakajima A6M-2 Rufe floatplane fighters. Five of the Rufes were promptly dispatched and the Wildcats prepared to strafe the warships. Foss climbed up to protect the others and got involved in a dogfight with a Mitsubishi F1M Pete floatplane. He shot down the slow-moving biplane, but not before its rear gunner perforated the F4F’s Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp with 7.7mm machine-gun fire. As Foss nursed the Wildcat, it was evident that he couldn’t get back to base. His engine died and he went into the water close to Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands chain, almost drowning before he was able to get into his raft. As darkness fell, he spotted shark fins close by. Fortunately, he

Above

An F4F-3 of VMF-121. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Left

Two legendary naval aviators in front of a F4F-3 at Kaneohe, Hawaii: Butch O’Hare (left) and Jimmy Thach (right). TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

FM-2s were received by the British as the Wildcat VI March 2017 FLYPAST 71

SPOT FACT The Wildcat's ZB homing device helped US pilots to find their carriers in poor visibility

Right

An F4F-3 in flight in 1942. DICK STARINCHAK Below

Wildcat ‘Rosenblatt’s Reply’ ready to launch from the USS ‘Suwannee’ in 1943. DICK STARINCHAK

was rescued by members of the local Catholic church. Next day, a PBY Catalina took him back to Guadalcanal where his Cactus Air Force had downed 15 Japanese aircraft the day before. His own tally was now 19. On November 12, four transport vessels were bringing infantry to Guadalcanal to bolster the US forces there. The Japanese sent 16 Bettys with 30 Zeros providing cover to intercept them. The Wildcats dived into the opposing force, Foss going within 100 yards (91m) of the nearest bomber, aimed at the starboard engine causing it to burst into flames. He got that bomber and

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a Zero that got in his way. Foss returned to the USA in the spring of 1943. His 26 aerial victories equaled that of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker’s record in World War One and President Roosevelt presented him with the Medal of Honor.

Crushing blow

Lt E Scott McCuskey was the topscoring pilot during the battles of Midway and one of the Navy’s early aces. Some of the first F4F-3s to roll off the Grumman production lines were issued to VF-42, McCuskey’s unit. The squadron was flying from the

USS Yorktown in late 1941 but after Pearl Harbor, the carrier was needed in the Pacific. Teaming up with the USS Enterprise, the battle plan was to hit the Marshall Islands with the ‘Big E’, while the Yorktown would strike enemy-held territory in the Gilbert Islands. On February 11, 1942, VF-42 got on the score board. Radar picked up a ‘bogey’ and McCuskey and Ensign John Adams went after the intruder, which was a Kawanishi Mavis flying close to the Yorktown. The ship’s crew watched as the two Wildcat pilots chased the big flying boat into a cloud and listened on the public address to the radio chatter. Only pieces of the

Men Behind the Wildcat

Mavis came out of that cloud. An excited McCuskey cried out: “We just shot his ass off!!” The Yorktown, which was badly damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, went to Pearl Harbor for repairs in readiness for the Battle of Midway the following month. Personnel of VF-42 were merged into VF-3, under the great Jimmy Thach. ‘Fighting 3’ was equipped with 27 of the latest F4F-4 folding-wing Wildcats. Once they got out to sea, it was discovered that the guns had not been mounted, but were stowed in the gun bays, covered in Cosmolene preservative, which prevents rust. The ordnance crews had to clean, mount and boresight the guns before June 4, when the action started. That morning the Douglas SBDs managed to sink the three main carriers, dealing Yamamoto’s fleet a crushing blow,

26

although the Yorktown was also sent to the bottom. McCuskey flew escort for the torpedo-bombers. Late that afternoon, McCuskey and three other Wildcat pilots faced attacking Japanese dive-bombers and he got five of the enemy. At that point McCuskey had 6 and a half kills, ending the war with 13 and a half. With many other pilots, McCuskey made the transition from the F4F to the F6F Hellcat.

Out of the sun

Ending up with a tally of 15 and a half victories, Marine pilot Lieutenant

James E Swett shot down seven of those on his first combat patrol. In December 1942, serving with VMF221, Swett moved to Henderson Field where he took part in securing Guadalcanal from the Japanese. After returning from a routine patrol off the coast on April 7, 1943, word was sent out to his patrol that 150 Japanese fighters were heading toward the Marines’ position. Swett hurled his four-aircraft flight into the melee and personally destroyed an enemy on the first pass. During the dogfight, Swett became separated from the other three but continued to fight, destroying four more enemy bombers. Swett continued to pursue the bombers, engaging an eighth example, but the tail gunner zeroed in on him, shattering his windshield and damaging his engine. In a later interview carried out in 1991, Swett said: “I was cut up around the face by flying glass. I made a good water landing, but my shoulders straps were too loose and I hit my head on the instrument panel and broke my nose. I struggled to get out of the cockpit as the plane sank, but my parachute straps got caught and dragged me under. I do not know how deep I was before my life raft inflated and popped to the surface.” Swett finished World War Two with 103 combat missions including Iwo Jima and Okinawa in F4U Corsairs. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for that incredible combat of April 1943. Japanese pilots had nothing but praise for the Wildcat. Top ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa once told Saburō Sakai, another high-scorer: “I don’t know how many Wildcats there were, but they seemed to come out of the sun in an endless stream. We never had a chance… Every time we went out we lost more and more planes. Guadalcanal was completely under the enemy’s control.” Such words are the best ever tribute to the F4F Wildcat, the fighter that took the brunt of the actions that turned the tide in the Pacific.

Left

A General Motors-built FM-2 Wildcat landing on the USS ‘Charger’ in 1943. DICK STARINCHAK

Below left

Loading a life raft into F4F-3 in August 1942. This was taken stateside at a training base. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

victories were scored by Joe Foss, the top-ranking Wildcat ace March 2017 FLYPAST 73

Spotlight Grumman Wildcat

Stars

over Midway Andy Hay artwork of a Wildcat flown by an esteemed US naval pilot

Artwork

Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat ‘23’ of VF-3, flown by Lt Cdr John S Thach from USS Yorktown in 1942. ANDY HAY-2017

G

rumman F4F Wildcat ace Lt Cdr John S Thach was one of the primary exponents of the robust fighter during World War Two. In tactics devised by Thach – thereafter known as the Thach Weave – Wildcat pilots were able to hold their own against attacks by the more manoeuvrable Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’. Serving in the US Navy, he was given command of fighter unit VF-3 in the early 1940s. Having operated from USS Lexington in the early part

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of the war, he and his squadron were transferred to USS Yorktown in June 1942 and participated in the Battle of Midway. On June 4, he had the opportunity to put the Thach Weave into practice for the first time, when six VF-3 Hellcats were targeted by 15 to 20 A6Ms. The US fighters would weave in regularly intersecting flight paths to lure the enemy into focusing on one plane, giving the targeted pilot’s wingman the opportunity to attack the pursuer. On June 4, Thach shot

down three Japanese fighters using this method, his wingman accounting for a fourth, for the loss of one Wildcat. Ending the war with six confirmed victories, he was present (as operations officer to Vice Admiral John S McCain) at the formal Japanese surrender on board USS Missouri, and rose to the rank of Admiral post-war. He retired from the Navy in 1967 after 40 years of service, and died on April 15, 1981, aged 75. The USS Thach, a navy frigate, was named in his honour.

SPOT FACT It had a claimed kill-to-loss ratio of almost 6:1 in 1942

7,885

Wildcat in profile

were built in total March 2017 FLYPAST 75

Spotlight Grumman Wildcat

‘Canal’ Defending the

T

hree American fighter prototypes flew within 11 months of one another: the Brewster Buffalo in December 1937, the Grumman F4F Wildcat in September 1938 and, a month later, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. The Buffalo would have a brief and unsung combat career while the Grumman and Curtiss fighters were to achieve considerable fame. Test pilot Robert L Hall took the first Wildcat, the XF4F-1, aloft from Grumman’s home at Bethpage, New York, for the first time on September 2, 1938. The name ‘Wildcat’ did not become official until October 1, 1941, starting the famous Grumman ‘Cat’ family which ran all the way through to the swing-wing, twin-jet F-14 Tomcat, which first appeared in 1970. It was the much refined F4F-3 that the US Navy and Marine Corps ordered into series production. The attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 caught 11 F4F-3s of USMC

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squadron VMF-211 on the ground, nine of which were destroyed.

Outclassed at Midway

Twelve F4Fs had been delivered to the Pacific outpost of Wake Island. Only two had self-sealing tanks and installation of armour plate was incomplete, but the aircraft were much needed for the upcoming Battle of Midway. At 05:34 hours on June 4, 1942, a US Navy Catalina flying-boat spotted the Japanese attack force and radioed: “Many enemy planes heading toward Midway.” There were 28 Marine fighters on Midway under the command of Major Floyd B Parks, 19 of them ineffective F2A Buffaloes. Parks took off with seven Buffaloes and five Wildcats to intercept the incoming Japanese force. Among the pilots scrambled with Parks was F4F pilot Marine Captain Marion E Carl of VMF-223 who destroyed a Mitsubishi ‘Zero’ on his

first pass. As he started climbing for more altitude, other Zeros got on his tail. Immediately nosing over, he rammed everything to the firewall and pulled away, establishing that a Wildcat could at least out-dive a Zero. Having made good his escape, on his way back to Midway he made another attack on three Zeros below, sending one down burning and out of control. The Marines lost aircraft after aircraft that day against the fast Zeros, many being F2As which didn’t have a chance. Midway radio called for the surviving fighters to land and refuel. Only ten responded and only two would ever fly again. It was the heaviest loss the USMC suffered in a single air battle during the entire war. One of the pilots said of the Buffalo that it “should be in Miami as a training plane!”. Eight of the 12 F4F-3s on Midway were destroyed in the initial Japanese attack. The four that survived had been in the air on patrol but, because

SPOT FACT Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown shot down two Focke-Wulf Fw 200s flying Martlets

Wildcat in Combat

Fighting around Guadalcanal, in the Pacific, northeast of Australia, was intense and it was there that the F4F Wildcat proved to be a tenacious and effective fighter. Warren E Thompson describes the action

of poor visibility, failed to see the attacking Japanese bombers. During another raid the following day the quartet of F4F-3s were able to shoot down two enemy bombers for the loss of a pair of VMF-211 aircraft.

Learning curve

Midway was far from the end of the road for the Wildcat: the Grumman fighter was going to fight many a battle in the Pacific. Like most Japanese army and navy fighter aircraft, the agile Zero had been designed to excel in slow-speed manoeuvres. US Navy aviators realised early on that its controls became heavy

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at high speeds and less effective in high-speed rolls and dives – whereas the F4F was so rugged that terminal dive airspeed was not red-lined. Navy tacticians such as James Flatley and Jimmy Thach preached that it was important to maintain speed, whenever possible, no matter what the Zero did. Although the Wildcat was not especially fast, its two-speed supercharger meant it performed well at high altitudes, unlike the Bell P-39 Airacobra and Curtiss P-40. The A6M2 Zero’s 7.7mm cowl guns and slow-firing 20mm cannon were effective only at a point-blank range. Wildcat pilots reported that hits from

their 0.50-calibre wing guns usually caused complete disintegration of a Zero.

Above

Heavy toll

TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

A flight of F4F-4s over the coast of Guadalcanal in late 1942.

News of the US invasion of Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 reached the Japanese the same day. In return they launched strikes from their big base at Rabaul. Flying escort was an elite Kokutai (air group) which counted Suburo Sakai (ended the war with 64 victories) and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa (with 87) among its pilots. Their first glimpse of the enemy came when Wildcats from the USS Saratoga dived into and scattered their formation. It didn’t take long for the Japanese to recover and Sakai and Nishizawa quickly claimed eight Wildcats and a Douglas Dauntless between them. None of the other pilots scored – but the F4F pilots had brought down 14 bombers and two Zeros. Between August and November

Left

An F4F-3 at Espiritu Santo in March 1943, assigned to USMC artillery liaison unit VMO 251. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Wildcats were shot down in World War Two March 2017 FLYPAST 77

SPOT FACT Wildcats strafed Japanese battleship Yamato during October 1944’s Battle off Samar

Above

An F4F-4 about to launch off the USS ‘Long Island’, prior to the invasion of Guadalcanal, summer 1942. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Above right

An F4F-4 of VMF-121 at Camp Kearny, California – the present-day MCAS Miramar – used by the Marine Corps as a jumping off place for Wildcats destined for duty in the Pacific Theatre. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Right

A group of VMF-121 pilots on the flight line at Guadalcanal in 1943. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

1942, the Japanese lost some 650 aircraft and an irreplaceable number of trained airmen, the F4Fs accounting for most of the losses. Marine aces began to appear. During the Battle of Santa Cruz in late October 1942, Stanley ‘Swede’ Vejtasa of VF-10, from the USS Enterprise, downed seven Japanese aircraft during one fight. Captain Joe Foss racked up 23 of his 26 kills over Guadalcanal while Major John L Smith was close behind with 19. Hunting Japanese had become a major sport among USMC Wildcat pilots.

Indian Joe

One of the most famous among them was Lt Colonel Harold W ‘Indian Joe’ Bauer, commanding officer of VMF-212 and a ‘double ace’ with 11 victories. His best day came on October 3, 1942, while leading a division in Marion Carl’s flight, when he downed

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“Noticing a Zero going after an American pilot descending by parachute, and with only one of his guns working, Carl dived towards the enemy and shot it down” four Zeros with four quick bursts, but jammed three of his guns in the process. Noticing a Zero going after an American pilot descending by parachute, and with only one of his guns working, ‘Indian Joe’ dived towards the enemy and shot it down. He then circled where the

Marine pilot lay floating to help guide a destroyer in to pick him up. Bauer ended the day with four confirmed kills and one ‘probable’. In mid-October the Japanese made a major effort to throw the Marines out of Guadalcanal. Based at Henderson Field, the so-called ‘Cactus Air Force’

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USMC

Wi

MC

Wildcat in Combat

Above left

An F4F-3 in early 1942. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

only had 12 Wildcats operational, with their fuel stocks running low. Meanwhile the destroyer USS McFarland was offloading aviation fuel into a barge and desperately vulnerable. Suddenly nine Aichi D3A Val bombers came in and attacked the barge. At that moment, Bauer was leading in all of VMF-212 for landing after a long flight from Espiritu Santo. Noticing the Vals in the distance, and despite running low on fuel, he set out alone to take on the attackers. Catching them at 200ft (60m), he tore into the formation, probably taking out four in succession. His action led to the award of a Congressional Medal of Honor. Joe Foss recalled the mission of November 14, 1942: “We bombed and torpedoed everything… and we had several of their troop transports dead in the water! At about 4pm

USS ‘Sangamon’ loaded with F4Fs and SBDs in early 1943. DICK STARINCHAK A pilot with his F4F at Lee Field, Florida, early 1943. DICK STARINCHAK

Wildcats played a prominent role in the defence of Wake Island in December 1941 March 2017 FLYPAST 79

SPOT FACT US Navy Wildcats participated in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa in 1942 Below

A Stateside-based F4F-4 in 1943. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

I received orders to go up there and strafe the transports. “Right before we took off, Bauer wanted to come along and see how my boys did, so we took off and headed up the slot. We arrived over the troop transports and watched our squadron make their attacks against the enemy shipping. Tom Furlow and I followed the colonel and watched from high above. “Then the rest of our units used up all their ammunition and started to return to base. The surrounding air seemed to be free of any enemy air activity, so we headed down and strafed the ships below. “All of a sudden tracers shot over my head. Upon looking back, I saw two ‘Jap’ Zeros diving at us and shooting all the way down. At once, Bauer turned and headed straight for one and within seconds the Zero blew up. “I chased the other Zero toward Tokyo, but couldn’t catch him. Upon return to the scene of Bauer’s action I was unable to spot him. I noticed an oil slick about a mile south of the spot where the Zero had gone in and, upon circling, I saw Bauer swimming with his life vest on. “I went down low and he waved me toward home. He was in good shape, no visible cuts. I gave it full throttle toward our home base.

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“At daybreak the next day we were [back] with my flight of eight and a Grumman J2F amphibian biplane. The only things in sight were two enemy aircraft which we shot down at once. We searched and searched, but no sight of anybody. “Either the enemy happened upon him and took him prisoner or the sharks got him. To me, Marine Corps aviation’s greatest loss of the war is none other than Joe Bauer.”

Breakfast call

Captain John L Smith of the US Marine Corps was the second-highest scorer against the Japanese, with 19 victories while flying with VMF-223 out of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. At 5am on August 30, 1942 pilots ate breakfast and waited for the coast watchers to tell them that the Japanese were on their way. At last word came and USAAF pilots flying Bell P-400s (Airacobras intended for the RAF but held back) and the Wildcat pilots climbed up to 15,000ft as quickly as possible. Over the radio came a call: “Zeros jumping us!” The Japanese had singled out the P-400s. Smith picked out a Zero and flamed it. He spotted another emerging from a cloud, drew a bead and fired; seconds later it blew up, making his seventh victory. Two

kills in less than five minutes. Another Zero appeared at 12 o’clock, heading right towards him. The two fighters closed at 500 knots; both kept firing and neither gave way. Finally, the Zero began to smoke – pieces fell off and it exploded. Smith rammed his stick forward and dived underneath the burning fighter which plunged down toward Henderson Field. Down to 800ft, Smith glanced around and spotted two Zeros which had probably been strafing the airfield. Attacking them at such a low altitude was risky business, but he lined up on one and fired. His victim soon began to stream smoke and flame and seconds later went right into the ground. That was Smith’s ninth kill. The Japanese had taken a beating that day with 14 out of 22 Zeros shot down, and the bombers had to return to their base due to bad weather. On September 12, 1942, Smith led five Wildcats up to 28,000ft, and after a while they sighted Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers at a much lower altitude. In their first pass they shot six out of the sky, Smith being credited with two. The next day the three squadrons based at Henderson Field – the Marines’ VMF-223, VMF-224 and

4

Messerschmitt

Bf

mitt

Wildcat in Combat

“Another Zero appeared at 12 o’clock, heading right towards him. The two fighters closed at 500 knots; both kept firing and neither gave way. Finally, the Zero began to smoke – pieces fell off and it exploded”

the USN’s VF-5 – combined for 16 victories, with Smith scoring his 16th. On October 11, Major Smith and his squadron left Guadalcanal for the last time. He had scored 19 victories and was later promoted to lieutenant colonel and awarded the Medal of Honor. For pure performance, the Japanese Zero outclassed the F4F, but with its tough construction and well trained pilots using appropriate tactics, the Wildcat prevailed.

Above left

F4Fs in the hangar deck of USS ‘Charger’ in October 1942. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION Above

F4F-4s line the deck of the USS ‘Suwannee’ in November 1942. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

Bf 109s were shot down over Norway by British Wildcats in March 1945 March 2017 FLYPAST 81

V BOMBER TEST BEDS

Paving the Way Tony Buttler examines the scale test-beds that preceded the Victor and the Vulcan – and V-bombers that might have been

Right

The short-lived first Avro 707, VX784. ALL VIA AUTHOR Below right

Avro 707A WD280 displaying its modified wing leading edges, a feature introduced on production Vulcans.

S

uch was the advanced nature of the new wing shapes selected for the ‘second generation’ of V-bombers – the Avro Vulcan and the Handley Page Victor – that it was thought prudent to prove the radical designs before the full-scale hardware was built. The Valiant, from Vickers, was seen as the ‘safe’ bet in the original three-cornered V-bomber programme. Its moderately swept wing did not really push the boundaries, unlike the delta-winged Avro 698 and the crescent-winged HP.80 proposals which generated much concern in the Air Ministry. Means to address these anxieties were soon to be followed up.

MINI DELTAS

A well-established method to test out new concepts was to fly piloted scaled-down aircraft to assess their aerodynamics. In 1948, two onethird scale Type 707s (VX784 and VX790) were ordered from Avro under Specification E15/48. They were to investigate any problems that might be experienced with the Vulcan’s delta wing at low speeds and altitudes. Two half-scale Type 710s (VX799 and VX808) were also required to cover the high-speed part of the envelope. But such was the level of additional development work needed to produce this separate design that they were soon cancelled. The two 707s were to use as much existing equipment as possible: for example, a Gloster Meteor cockpit canopy. Avro test pilot Sqn Ldr Eric ‘Red’ Esler made VX784’s first flight on September 4, 1949, but he lost 82 FLYPAST March 2017

his life on the 30th of the month when the little delta crashed near Blackbushe in Hampshire. More 707s were ordered. Meanwhile VX790’s nose was extended to improve the aerodynamics, its fin enlarged and undercarriage changed, and it had an ejection seat fitted (unlike VX784). In this new form, VX790 was retitled as a Type 707B, Wg Cdr ‘Roly’ Falk making its first flight on September 6, 1950. In February 1951, VX790’s upper rear fuselage was revised with a

‘hump’ to improve the airflow into its 3,500lb/st (15.6kN) Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 turbojet. By late 1952 testing from the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, had shown that a tailless aeroplane could have excellent flying qualities. A landing accident, however, ended VX790’s flying career in September 1956.

WING BUZZ

Specification E10/49 of 1949 covered two examples of a new ‘high speed’ 707A to be capable

of 576mph (927km/h) at 36,000ft (10,973m). Given the serials WD280 and WZ736, they introduced a new wing with root intakes more representative of the Vulcan, although the forward fuselage was unchanged. Falk took WD280 on its first flight

on June 14, 1951, by which time the 707s were making little direct contribution to the full-size bomber, much of the design of which had been frozen. Falk took the prototype Avro 698, the first Vulcan, VX770 into the air for the first time on August 30, 1952. However, the discovery of wing ‘buzz’ – a high-frequency vibration – in the 707A at high speed and while pulling ‘g’ at extreme altitude proved important. To deal with the problem, compound sweepback and a kink to the outer portion of the leading edge were introduced. The inner part of WD280’s outer wing had its sweep angle reduced while the outermost wing was swept even more, a change that would be incorporated on production Vulcans. In 1956, WD280 went to Australia to undertake low-speed research and continued flying

well into the 1960s. It still exists, preserved in Melbourne. First flown on February 20, 1953, WZ736 was used at Farnborough on several projects, such as automatic landing trials at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, before being struck off charge in 1962. It’s displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, on loan from the RAF Museum.

Above

Layout of the unbuilt Avro 710. Below

Avro 707B VX790 after its intake had been modified with a ‘hump’ to improve the engine airflow.

V BOMBER TEST BEDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN: AW.56 The Armstrong Whitworth AW.56 was a flying wing with no tailplane, the company declaring that problems presented by sweptback wings were easier to solve using a tail-less aircraft. Lateral and longitudinal control was to be achieved using two surfaces in tandem on each outer wing, called the ‘corrector’ and ‘controller’ respectively. It featured four Rolls-Royce AJ.65 turbojets housed in the wing roots, with a fifth in the rear fuselage fed by its own intake on the upper fuselage. Span was 120ft (36.6m), all up weight 113,000lb (51,257kg) and projected cruising speed 581mph (936km/h) at 36,000ft (10,973m).

Avro 707C WZ744 had side-by-side seating.

Model of the AW.56. RAY WILLIAMS COLLECTION

“Overall, the 707s’ benefits to the Vulcan programme were not substantial, but they proved to be very useful research aircraft in their own right”

Superb image of the four 707s (VX790, WD280, WZ736 and WZ744) taxiing out in front of the control tower at Farnborough for the 1953 SBAC airshow. BARRY JONES

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Left

SIDE-BY-SIDE

The first high-speed 707A, WD280, had wing root intakes, a cleaner arrangement than the earlier dorsal format. AVRO HERITAGE

The last Avro mini-delta built was a side-by-side two-seat version, without ejection seats, the Type 707C. Sqn Ldr T B Wales took it on its maiden flight on July 1, 1953 before it went to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, to provide pilot experience on deltas. From 1956 it was used on some of the earliest trials

Below left

The HP.88, VX330, used a fuselage similar to another high-speed aircraft, the Supermarine Type 510.

with electrical control systems and today it’s held by the RAF Museum at Cosford, Shropshire. Overall, the 707s’ benefits to the Vulcan programme were not substantial, but they proved to be very useful research aircraft in their own right. They’re also remembered for their spectacular paint schemes – VX784 was silver, VX790 blue, WD280 originally salmon pink and then bright red, HP.88’s wing was mounted lower on the fuselage. Using the East Yorkshire airfield of Carnaby, near Bridlington, VX330 first flew on June 21, 1951, piloted by Gartrell ‘Sailor’ Parker, Blackburn’s chief test pilot. Testing progressed well before the aircraft moved to Stansted in August to prepare for the Farnborough airshow. On August 26, VX330 broke up over

WZ736 orange, and later yellow, and WZ744 silver.

TRAGIC CRESCENT

Meanwhile Handley Page was asked to build a two-fifths scale single-seat research aeroplane to test the aerodynamics of the Victor’s crescent wing. Designated HP.88, two were ordered to Specification E6/48 – VX330 and VX337 – but only the first was completed. Demands on Handley Page to gear up for the full-size V-bomber were such that the HP.88 was subcontracted to Blackburn at Brough

in the East Riding of Yorkshire. A fuselage similar to the Supermarine Type 510 research aircraft’s was adopted and attached to a 0.4 linear scale HP.80 wing and an allmoving tailplane. It did not fully represent the bomber as it had a high wing – the

the Essex airfield and was destroyed, killing its pilot, Flt Lt Douglas Broomfield. It’s understood that oscillations at low altitude resulted in the fuselage failing. Inertial coupling between the all-moving tail and the powered controls had put a massive load on the airframe. This tragic loss did not delay to the Victor development programme:

Left

Rear view of the ‘taildragger’ HP.88. PHIL BUTLER COLLECTION

Below left

Model of the Avro 698 as first proposed to B35/46. GEORGE COX

V BOMBER TEST BEDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN: SB.1 One of the Shorts submissions for the V-bomber contest was the SB.1, a flying wing, tail-less project utilising the ‘aeroisoclinic’ wing proposed by Professor Geoffrey Hill. It featured novel all-moving wing tips and the concept was tested by the SB.1 glider, which was rebuilt as the SA.4 Sherpa scale aircraft flown in the 1950s. It is now part of the Ulster Aviation Society’s collection at Long Kesh in Northern Ireland. A second ‘first generation’ V-Bomber design, the Sperrin, was also produced and flew in prototype form, but was ultimately discarded. The SB.1 had five Rolls-Royce AJ.65s – one housed in the fuselage and two in each wing mounted in pairs one above the other. Span was 114ft (34.75m), all up weight 115,000lb (52,164kg) and projected cruising speed 576mph (927km/h) at 47,000ft (14,326m).

Project drawing of the Short SB.1.

Handley Page artwork depicting the HP.80 as it was proposed to the design competition.

“As with most major design programmes, the Avro 698 and the HP.80 went through considerable evolutions prior to the designs being declared frozen and metal cut” AW.56 and Shorts the SB.1, both of which employed advanced wing configurations. (See the panels.) As with most major design programmes, the Avro 698 and the HP.80 went through considerable evolutions prior to the designs being declared frozen and metal cut. What became the Vulcan altered in layout considerably as the design matured and the drawing

offices at both Avro and Handley Page envisaged wingtip fins at an early stage. There were many proposed developments of the Victor and Vulcan, including two supersonic derivatives, but neither came close to being built. The Avro

Above

The Handley Page Victor Phase 4 proposal. Right

The Avro 732 concept of 1956. The under-fuselage weapon is unidentified. CHRIS GIBSON USING AVRO HERITAGE ORIGINAL

Hedley ‘Hazel’ Hazelden was at the controls of the prototype Victor, WB771, on Christmas Eve, 1952.

SUPERSONICS

The Vulcan and Victor were the winners of a major design competition made against Specification B35/46. Two companies lost out and were not invited to build prototypes. Armstrong Whitworth proposed its

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732 of 1956 was to have been powered by eight de Havilland Gyron Juniors, four in pairs side-byside in the fuselage and the others in pairs in underwing nacelles. Other than its delta wing concept, it owed little to the Vulcan. The so-called ‘Phase 4’ Victor resulted from studies of the behaviour of production examples at high speeds. These introduced a refined fuselage with area ruling and reheat to provide supersonic capability while retaining the existing B.2 wings and tail. The development and trials programmes that created the Victor and the Vulcan were extensive, yet both of these radical designs proved to be relatively straightforward to bring into service. They were great successes, becoming long-term backbones of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

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MUSEUMS SEATTLE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT

Seattle Sojourn T

he distinctive and beautiful shape of a Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation is the first aircraft to catch your eye as you walk across the car park to the entrance of the sprawling Museum of Flight. Resplendent in its bright Trans-Canada colours, it’s an indication of the delights and multitude of exhibits that lie inside, ranging from the iconic Concorde to a Boeing B-29

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Superfortress restoration project that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. In fact, there’s a strong Boeing influence to the collection, as the museum is situated on the edge of the mighty Boeing Field/ King County International Airport complex that takes up the majority of land on East Marginal Way South. The Museum of Flight also incorporates the Red Barn,

the Boeing Company’s original factory, which was floated as a complete structure up the Duwamish River to its new home for preservation. Restored in 1983 it became the first permanent location for the fledgling museum. The roots of the museum stretch back 53 years to 1964, when a group of aviation enthusiasts became concerned that artefacts and airframes mapping the

evolution of flight were rapidly vanishing at a high attrition rate through neglect, scrapping and other missed opportunities. In September the next year, the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation came into being with two aims: to preserve significant aircraft and related items, and promote aviation education for fans of all ages. After a search for suitable

n

Seattle’s Museum of Flight is a prime aviation attraction and a must-see for all aircraft enthusiasts. Chris Gilson reports premises, the first official exhibits at what was now designated The Museum of Flight were on display from 1968 until 1979 in a 10,000sq ft (929sq m) space at the worldfamous Seattle Centre – famed for its Space Needle tower. However, a more permanent home was required and in 1975, following negotiations, King County – the authority that owns the current Boeing Field site – agreed to a

99-year lease. The next step saw the purchase of the Red Barn, which was joined by the T A Wilson Great Gallery in 1987, the Library and Archives Building in 2002 and the J Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing in 2004. As the site continued to expand, the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery was dedicated in 2011, with the final addition being the Aviation Pavilion, which

“The roots of the museum stretch back 53 years to 1964, when a group of aviation enthusiasts became concerned that artefacts and airframes mapping the evolution of flight were rapidly vanishing”

Above

Lockheed P-38L Lightning 44-53097 hangs from the ceiling of the J Elroy McCaw Personal Courage wing at the museum. Top

The museum’s ‘Messerschmitt Bf 109E’ was converted from a Hispano-built HA.1112 Buchon by the addition of a new engine.

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MUSEUMS SEATTLE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT Curtiss P-40N Warhawk 44-4192 has just 60 hours of flying time ‘on the clock’, and was taken directly to storage near Tucson, Arizona from the Curtiss factory at Buffalo in 1945.

Goodyear FG-1D Corsair 88382 is on display in the J Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing.

Wearing the markings of 126 Squadron is airworthy Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX MK923.

opened last year. In total the site covers 20 acres.

the Aviation Pavilion, adding our Boeing 727, 247D and VC-137B Air Force One, together with the signage and exhibits that accompany them. “The great news is that we now offer virtual tours of most of these planes, with more to follow. The tours are cutting edge technologybased too, being produced in partnership with [locally situated] Microsoft and Matterport, meaning they’re pretty cool. Our docents [guides] also carry tablets in the Pavilion, so they can give a personal virtual tour of the airframes that people cannot physically enter.” Our next stop is the J Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing, which is dedicated to aviators from both the World War One and Two periods. It features a spectacular array of warbirds, most of which are technically in airworthy condition, as is the B-17F in the Aviation Pavilion.

Room to manoeuvre Ted Huetter, Senior Manager, Public Relations and Promotions, is waiting to greet us and, more importantly, show us the newly opened Aviation Pavilion. This new space, which is light and airy, means visitors can easily explore the larger exhibits in the collection, including the aforementioned Concorde, obviously a popular attraction and N7470, the prototype Boeing 747. Interestingly, as well as the prototype Boeing 747, the museum also has the first 727 and 737. The 727 was ferried into preservation in March last year, after a 15-year restoration to prepare it for one last flight from nearby Paine Field, the main Boeing flight-test centre.

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Other airframes include Boeing WB-47E Stratojet 51-7066; Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-2972 Boeing Bee and the ongoing restoration of former China Lake range target Boeing B-29 44-69729, which will appear in a future edition of FlyPast. The work on the B-29 is, as expected, fastidious, with an attention to detail that highlights the team’s dedication to its work. When rescued from the ranges, 44-69729 was to all intents and purposes a stripped-out shell. Now it looks ready for flight at a moment’s notice, with its aluminium skin gleaming in the lights. The B-29 also had a special visitor last September, when one of its former pilots Wallace Van Eaton paid a visit and was reunited with the aircraft for the first time in 70 years. “It’s been a busy time for us”, says Ted. “We made the final move into

The wing, which opened on June 6, 2004, the 60th anniversary of D-Day, covers 80,000sq ft, (7,432sq m). It houses 28 significant aircraft, including the Champlin Fighter Collection. One aircraft that immediately grabs the eye is Castle Bromwichbuilt Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX MK923, which initially served with 126 Squadron, before passing to the Dutch Air Force in May 1947, and finally being flown as H-104 and H-61. A veteran of the D-Day campaign, it was used in the film The Longest Day in 1962 before being owned by actor Cliff Robertson and later Canadian former Spitfire pilot Jerry Billing. It flew regularly until 2005, when it was loaned to the museum. Another striking airframe is Curtiss P-40N Warhawk 44-7192 O’Reilly’s Daughter which has been at the museum since 2003, when it arrived

Boeing B-17F 42-29782 ‘Boeing Bee’ was converted to a tanker following its military use, and is now the only airworthy ‘F’ model in the world.

The Personal Courage Wing houses over 25 World War One and Two-era aircraft including Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 42-8205 ‘Big Stud’ (above), and a Nakajimia Ki-43 replica (right). Housed in the new outdoor pavilion, Boeing B-29 Superfortress 44-69729 has been the subject of a comprehensive restoration, work that is still ongoing.

from Arizona. It wears the markings of the Chinese-American Composite Wing from circa 1944. The gallery also includes examples of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Goodyear FG-1D Corsair and, interestingly, a replica of the often-overlooked but potent Nakajima Ki-43 II, code-named ‘Oscar’ by the Allied Powers. The exhibition space is designed to spill as little light as possible to protect the aircraft and associated

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MUSEUMS SEATTLE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT Locally-built Boeing WB-47E Stratojet 51-7066 is another resident of the new pavilion adjacent to the main museum.

“Easily one of the prime aviation attractions in America, the Museum of Flight should be on every enthusiast’s list to visit when in the area” displays from ultra-violet light and any other factors that would damage them. This is especially true in the case of the rare Caproni Ca.20, which takes pride of place on the upper levels of the Personal Courage Wing. The Ca.20 is an aircraft that was years ahead of its time when it flew in 1914. It was fast, streamlined and would have been a deadly opponent in combat, but Italian Government policy, which favoured bombers, dictated it wasn’t proceeded with. Consequently, it was stored by the Capronis for more than 85 years,

The T A Wilson Great Gallery houses an impressive display of aircraft, many of which are suspended from the ceiling.

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finally being rediscovered in a monastery on the family estate near Milan. It was dismantled piece by piece, and lowered from a second-storey window on to a truck. Today, it sits in its original and friable fabric coverings as a testament to what might have been.

Suspended from the ceiling For even the most casual visitor, the centrepiece of the museum has to be the T A Wilson Great Gallery. This impressive space houses no

A view down the intake of Vought XF-8U1 Crusader 138899.

fewer than 39 aircraft, and with many suspended from the ceiling, it is somewhat reminiscent of a full-size model aircraft collection. The exhibit that first catches the attention is the hall’s Douglas DC-3 NC91008. This classic airliner dates from 1940 and first flew with American Airlines. Today it is painted in the colours of Alaska Airlines. In fact, it’s hard to take your eyes from the transparent ceiling.

the types dating from the early days of jet fighters. It’s fascinating to see old adversaries such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and North American F-86 Sabre nose to nose, and to compare the differing philosophies that influenced both designs. The same can be said for the hulking McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II that sits next to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. Other types on display include a

The latest exhibit to be added to the room is the 75-year old PrattRead glider, which was originally built for service with the US Navy during World War Two, and became popular with civilian pilots after the conflict. It held the absolute altitude record for a multi-place glider from 1952 until 2006, at 44,255ft. Half of the glider has been left unpainted and uncovered after its restoration in order to display the

was built as a boathouse in 1909. It was purchased for the sum of just one dollar in 1975 from the Port of Seattle, which bought it after it had outlived its usefulness. After its movement downriver, it was lovingly restored and now contains the history of the Boeing Corporation, the factory buildings of which can be seen from its windows. It’s also a good idea to take a look at the Restoration Centre, which is located at Paine Field and is open

Clockwise from above

Lockheed M-21 Blackbird dating from 1963, the prototype Vought XF-8A (XF8U-1) Crusader, and the unusual, but ultimately unsuccessful Lear Fan 2100, which was the final project of aviation designer Bill Lear. Those interested in commercial aviation will be surprised to see a sectioned Boeing 737 on display in the hall. The ex-US Air jet was segmented following the end of its working life to show visitors how an airliner is constructed. It’s a popular educational tool and on the morning of our visit the Great Gallery was filled with schoolchildren learning about the aircraft on display. The museum also houses the Boeing Academy for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) learning, which offers programmes for students of all ages.

inside details and woodwork by the workmen of Pratt-Read, which was also a piano manufacturer. Close to the Great Gallery is the multi-sensory Charles Simonyi Space Gallery dating from 2007, which, as the name suggests, focuses on the United States space programme from its inception until the present day. Centrepiece of the exhibition is a full-size Shuttle, which was used by NASA as a training aid and mock-up.

Tuesday to Thursday between 0800 and 1600, with an admission charge of $5. It’s not on the same site as the main buildings of the museum but is well worth the time and effort, as it features many restoration projects in full swing, and is also the base of the museum’s airworthy aircraft. Easily one of the prime aviation attractions in America, The Museum of Flight should be on every enthusiast’s list to visit when in the area. There genuinely is something for everyone and it houses one of the finest collection of airframes to be seen anywhere. Further details can be found at www.museumofflight.org

The sleek lines of Lockheed M-21 Blackbird 60-6940 stand out in the Great Gallery. A view of the Great Gallery. Two old adversaries meet in the T A Wilson Great Gallery. The Aviation Pavilion in January 2017, with all its exhibits in place.

With such airframes as the NASA-painted Lockheed F-104C Starfighter to the delicate Aeronca L-3 Grasshopper observation aircraft, there’s plenty of exhibits to see, representing all eras of flight. One of the most recent displays is a UAV/drone exhibit, which brings the collection into the modern age. On the ground, there’s an equally impressive number of fixed wing and rotary-powered aircraft to see, of which the personal highlight was

Back to basics No visit to the Museum of Flight would be complete without a visit to the historic William E Boeing Red Barn, which was the birthplace of Boeing Aircraft in 1916 and is believed to be the oldest aircraft manufacturing structure in North America. The two-storey timber building, with its distinctive old-world charm,

FlyPast thanks Ted Huetter, the National Museum of Flight and Kent Ramsey for their help with this feature.

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FROM THE WORKSHOP SEPECAT JAGUAR

Grooming a Cat M

ost aircraft collections keep visitors at arms’ length, or further if they can manage it. In Wiltshire there’s a museum with a refreshing philosophy to allow public access to as many of the cockpits as possible. Despite its name, the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection (BDAC) is actually located at historic Old Sarum airfield. Originally based at the secure, high-tech test centre from which it takes its name, it moved a few miles south to its current site in 2012 to facilitate public access. Since then it’s flourished and expanded, with a vigorous restoration programme. When BDAC relocated to Old Sarum, there were already two nose sections of the 1970s Anglo-French SEPECAT Jaguar twin-engined strike fighter in the collection – the first British prototype, S.06 XW560, acquired from a Sussex-based Air Training Corps unit; and GR.1 XX761, which had been employed at Boscombe Down as a proof of concept testbed for a ‘glass cockpit’ upgrade. Obtaining a whole Jaguar was an ambition for BDAC technical director Ron Fulton. Thanks to his efforts, it was achieved in 2013, Jaguar GR.1 XX734 being the latest airframe to emerge from the workshop process – see page 98 for its pedigree. “I’ve maintained an interest

June 2015, and XX734 has canopy glazing, a fabricated fin, intake blanks and avionics bay doors. ALL AUTHOR UNLESS NOTED

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in the Jaguar since 1974 when it was the first aircraft I worked on as an avionics design engineer, updating the reconnaissance pod,” explains Ron. “In later years I was Boscombe Down’s fleet manager, in charge of 28 aircraft of varied types, and this included being programme manager for the later stages of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency-designed Jaguar 97/2000 upgrade.”

‘Ron’s Folly’ In 2013 the Gatwick Aviation Museum at Charlwood, Surrey, adjacent to London’s second airport, began a downsizing operation in order to move into a purpose-built display hall. Ron takes up the story: “When I received the disposals list from Gatwick I was surprised to find that Jaguar XX734 was not on it, despite it being in lousy condition. “I phoned the chair of trustees who said they did not own the airframe and that the owner thought its condition was so bad that no-one would want it, so it was going for scrap. I begged to differ, and a deal was negotiated. “I’d last seen XX734 a

few years previously, so a survey team went up to look at it and said: ‘We don’t recommend it.’ I was in America at the time, but I said: ‘No, you don’t understand, we already own it, the survey is to determine how best to move it!’ “It was truly in a dreadful state; the good news was that the wings had never been attached properly so dismantling was relatively easy. When it arrived at Old Sarum, BDAC members took one look at it and dubbed it ‘Ron’s Folly’! “The question I asked myself was: how do you eat an elephant? The answer, of course, is with one bite at a time. And how do you carry out this sort of restoration? One bit at a time. “The intention was only ever to externally restore it to ‘gate guardian’ standard. Work began at the rear of the airframe and moved forward, repairing secondary

structure and patching holes with flush patches. “In some cases fairly crude patches that had been put on during its life were removed and new flush patches installed. This also included removing innumerable birds’ nests and animal skeletons in every conceivable nook and cranny. “The

Hugh Trevor talks to Ron Fulton about turning a Jaguar from an eyesore to an exhibit museum is fortunate to be able to call on a wide variety of talent from its volunteers, ranging from standard metal working – cutting, filing, riveting etc – up to GRP [glass fibre-reinforced plastic] work. “Indeed, the gun ports, wingtips, flap-track covers and the inboard starboard leading edge were all made here using GRP techniques, mainly by volunteer Doug Lowe. He either fashioned the required shapes in timber for moulds or borrowed parts we could make moulds from.”

Nosing ahead The front fuselage had sustained damage at several points in its life. It had been used in explosives research, with small charges set off in various places and further harm caused when investigating the detonations. At a later date the nose had been bent upwards and squashed, probably from the nose gear collapsing. To cap it all, there had been a fire in or under the cockpit. The original concept for restoration

Jaguar XX734 in May 2013, shortly after arrival at Old Sarum. HERBIE FATHERLY

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FROM THE WORKSHOP SEPECAT JAGUAR Museum volunteer Gerry Smyth, formerly an engineer at Boscombe Down, happy in his work re-skinning the nose section.

“It was truly in a dreadful state... The question I asked myself was: how do you eat an elephant? The answer, of course, is one bite at a time. And how do you carry out this sort of restoration? One bit at a time” Restoring the Past for the Future The Boscombe Down Aviation Collection is located at Old Sarum aerodrome, north of Salisbury, Wiltshire. The museum is dedicated to the aeronautical heritage of the area, particularly the test flying carried out at nearby Boscombe Down. Open all year round, the collection is like no other, every turn providing interest. Access to cockpits is part of the museum’s philosophy and a variety of airframes are available for close inspection. More details: www.boscombedownaviationcollection.co.uk The cockpit was in poor condition, stripped out and burnt. HERBIE FATHERLY

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had been to replace the damaged front fuselage by transplanting one of BDAC’s existing Jaguar noses. Quite late in the project the decision was made to take the existing nose apart, straighten and strengthen it and put it back together again. There were two reasons for this: first, the two cockpits were valuable exhibits in their own right and it would be a pity to lose visitor access to them. Second, XX734’s front end began to look like it might be restorable after all. This would be a big job as the large avionics bay doors on the Ron Fulton putting in a flush skin patch.

nose were missing and so had to be fabricated. In addition, many hundreds, if not thousands, of rivets had to be drilled out, after they had been found under layers of paint, and replaced. “Fortunately there are no complex curves in the panels,” says Ron. “They’re basically just part of a slightly squashed cone. Unfortunately the new doors don’t fit as well as I’d have liked. We foam-filled the door cavities to give extra rigidity and waterproofing, but the foam expanded more than we thought, so the doors don’t fit

as snugly as they originally did – a mistake I shall try not to make in the future! “When XX734 arrived, the only Jaguar components we had in store were the windscreen and sidescreens. Fortunately we received significant help from the Jaguar restoration group at Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire, who provided an undercarriage door, a secondary air intake door and a tail hook. “Chris Wilson of Jet Art Aviation supplied several major components including a nose leg, laser nose cover, speed brake, undercarriage door and a pair of ‘tailerons’. Without Chris’s support we would not now have a complete aircraft. “We also acquired some engine bay covers, a second airbrake and a canopy from Gatwick, subsequent to acquiring the airframe. The canopy looked brand new and was still in its preservative, but unfortunately it was very badly corroded due to ingress of moisture. It took weeks to get the screws out to remove the Perspex and then to cut back the frame to treat the corrosion. Magnesium corrosion is notoriously hard to stop and only time will tell if we have done so. “The cockpit had been gutted and burnt out so we removed the remaining charred wiring and piping and rebuilt the cockpit panels where they’d been burnt through. The panels originally had a honeycomb interior so we filled the

Weapons pylons fitted following refurbishment. BDAC still requires an inner pylon – can you help?

replacements with foam, this time without over-filling them! “Eric Collinson, one of our volunteers who’s a very keen model maker, mocked up a seat top and head-up display in plywood and plastic and painted the cockpit interior black, as it will only be viewed from ground level. “We were missing the fin and Chris Wilson offered one from a twoseater;

Ron Fulton removing corrosion from the magnesium alloy canopy frame, a painstaking job.

however, it was larger than that of the single-seater. We decided to construct one from scratch, building a timber frame and covering it with a light gauge aluminium skin, again filling with foam for rigidity and waterproofing.”

Wing challenge “When we got a good look at the wing, my first reaction, and that of many others, was that it was unsalvageable. The flaps and spoilers had all been cut off, probably to make it road-legal on the back of a truck within the 8ft width limit. It had also been broken – more than a crack, there was a tear right across the top of the port wing and I thought: ‘This isn’t going to happen, it’s just too bad’. “So we left the wing till last – the fuselage was structurally finished before we looked at it again. We’d failed to find a replacement wing for a price the museum could afford. “One of our volunteers, Norman Penny, designed and built a pivoted stand to mount the wing vertically so we could work on both upper and lower surfaces at the same time. It was also on casters so we could move it around. Frankly, without that stand we’d never have been able to rebuild the wing. “The tear and the flexing were so bad that one side had sprung out

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FROM THE WORKSHOP SEPECAT JAGUAR SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 XX734 Aug 5, 1974 Aug 22, 1974 Nov 6, 1974 May 2, 1979 Aug 14, 1980 Feb 11, 1982 Mar 23, 1983 Nov 12, 1983 Nov 21, 1984

1991 May 5, 2013

First flown at Warton, Lancs, by Eric Bucklow. Delivered to 226 Operational Conversion Unit, Lossiemouth. To Coltishall, Norfolk, for 6 Squadron. Ferried to Warton as G-27-328 for conversion to Jaguar International standard. Delivered on loan to Indian Air Force as JI014. Returned to RAF at St Athan, Wales, and returned to RAF charge Jun 2, 1982. Transferred to Shawbury, Shropshire, and stored. To Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, as ground instructional airframe (GIA). Allocated GIA serial 8816M and used for battle damage repair training at Coltishall. History then unclear, possibly used for explosive research in the Abingdon, Oxfordshire, area. To a scrapyard at Charlwood, Surrey. Presented on loan to the Gatwick Aviation Museum by May 1999. Delivered to BDAC at Old Sarum. Restored from Sep 2013 to Mar 2016.

Notes: The joint Anglo-French organisation overseeing the Jaguar programme was Société Européenne de Production de l’Avion d’École de Combat et d’Appui Tactique – SEPECAT. At some point, possibly at Coltishall, XX734 lost its original wing and gained that of crash-damaged XX731. Jaguar XX734 at Coltishall in June 1975. ROBIN WALKER

Above, left to right

The wing mounted vertically on a pivoted frame. A section of skin has been cut out over a chordwise crack in the port upper wing skin to assess internal damage to the structure. HERBIE FATHERLY

Museum volunteer Doug Lowe producing a leading edge wing fillet from fibreglass. HERBIE FATHERLY

Dramatically transformed, Jaguar GR.1 XX734 at Old Sarum.

and was actually sitting on top of the countersunk screw heads. So we cut a 4in slot through the skin to see what was going on inside. “All the spars were broken and the only thing holding the outboard port wing on was the lower skin. This says a lot for the strength of the Jaguar wing as it had been on the airframe like that for several years without breaking off. “We also discovered the wing was not from XX734 but from XX731. This was plain to see both from the painted markings underneath and from pencilled numbers within the wing. On October

Jaguar XX734 out in the sunshine in February 2016. HERBIE FATHERLY

98 FLYPAST March 2017

7, 1985, XX731 suffered a fatal crash which probably explains why the wing was as mangled as it was. “We’re not sure when it got mated to XX734; possibly when at Coltishall for battle damage repair training, but what the fate of XX734’s original wing was we have no idea. “We set about pulling the wing straight using a jig, then bolted steel right-angle straps across the tear inside the wing and flush-skinned the area. Once that was under our belt the rest was simple. Although it was going to be a long job, the wing was now recoverable. “It was just a matter of rebuilding the trailing edge and manufacturing dummy flaps and spoilers – which were designed to be removable anyway. They won’t be functional – they were never intended to be, it’s a planform replica and nothing more. “We turned the wing over to repair

the leading edge damage. Again, one of the spars had gone and we put a steel splice across it. The wing is now on the aircraft, has pylons on it and is showing no signs of sagging or cracking where the skin was patched, so we’re pretty pleased with it. The wingtips we made ourselves from glass fibre.” “We needed a crane to put the wing on the fuselage. It weighed just about a ton, without its pylons, which is a hefty piece of structure. We were lucky that when we contacted the local Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers regiment, the 6th Armoured Close Support Battalion from Tidworth, they were delighted to bring down two of their heavy recovery vehicles and use the occasion as a training exercise. “I have to say it didn’t go quite as

smoothly as we’d hoped: the wing didn’t quite fit. After we’d decided to call it quits and the army had left, we discovered it had been placed about 3mm towards the starboard side. Norman Penny used a crowbar to move the wing to port. It went ‘clonk’ and settled down into its hole, and all the pins went in as they should have done.”

Finishing touches “The wiring in the nose was all removed as part of the rebuild but we wanted to fit ‘operating’ external lights: landing, navigation and anticollision lights. Two decisions were made: to use LED [light emitting diode] lights and to put in new wiring, apart from down the wing leading edge. “A small 24V to 12V power supply was fitted in the port gun bay together with a circuit breaker panel. Vehicle LEDs replaced all the normal filament lights. They’re not as bright

as the correct ones but neither do they consume anything like as much power as the original ones, nor do they get as hot.” During the metal working phase the airframe and wing were rubbed down, mostly to original primer but in some areas to bare metal. Following priming and undercoating the aircraft was rollered in the original 1970s Jaguar colours: dark green/dark grey with light grey under surfaces – the only scheme XX734 wore during its RAF service. Stencils were cut and sprayed with a modeller’s airbrush. Traces of the red 6 Squadron ‘Flying CanOpener’ insignia had been found under several layers of paint on the engine inlets. These were reapplied, together with the unit markings on the home-made GRP radar warning receiver pod on the fin.

Making a difference Ron concludes: “The restoration took 30 months in all, rather longer than envisaged but things are never as easy as you

think they’re going to be. All the people who worked on the project, 30 in all, have signed inside one of the speed brakes – although only four or five were probably working on it at any one time. “The original plan was to put XX734 outside, next to our Hunter F.6A XF375. As the ‘Jag’ is quite narrow, we managed to find room inside. “There may well be perfectionists and purists who will say ‘that’s not right’ or ‘that could have been done better’ – but given where we started and where we’ve ended up, we’ve saved a near wreck for others’ enjoyment. “It’s been a long trip with some dark moments, but thanks to an excellent team of skilled volunteers and help from friends, strangers, businesses, other Jaguar groups and museums, we’ve made a big difference to XX734. She’s now taken her place on display in the collection.”

March 2017 FLYPAST 99

VULCAN TEST PILOT BOOK

RAF SQUADRONS SPECIAL

Legendary Vulcan pilot Tony Blackman describes in layman’s terms and with statistical back-up what it was like to tame the first prototypes and to master the unusual characteristics necessitated by the Vulcan’s shape. Tony puts the developments, demonstrations at Farnborough, incidents and accidents in their political and historical context, but as his story is a highly personal one, we also get true sense of the way he felt whilst he was flying the aircraft. His words, descriptions and hitherto largely unpublished photographs will make people feel as he did the excitement of handling such an incredibly powerful monster always in the knowledge that he had to be in complete charge at all time as the monster could and did bite back. Softback, 224 pages.

Code: B493

Produced by Key Publishing with exclusive access to the Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force Squadrons is a 132-page officially endorsed special magazine telling the story behind today’s flying squadrons. Special Magazine, 132 pages.

Code: SPECSQUAD

ONLY £9.99

Vulcan Farewell Special

Victory 1940 Book

FlyPast magazine presents a unique 84-page souvenir devoted to a much-loved icon: Vulcan XH558. Created with the assistance of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, with breath-taking photography and amazing archive images, the story of the world’s only civilian operated V-Bomber is revealed. Special Magazine, 84 Pages.

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Reunion of Giants DVD

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ONLY £19.99

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1917 An Illustrated History Special

Victory 1940 presents a pictorial chronology of the legendary Battle of Britain, when the might of the Luftwaffe was defeated for the first time, by Churchill’s ‘Few’. The history of the battle has been recounted many times, but this publication offers a new and exclusive approach, through John Dibbs’ razor-sharp contemporary imagery of restored Battle of Britain warbirds, combined with previously unpublished archive material. Hardback, 228 pages.

ONLY £19.99

On 12 August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, in an engagement with Dornier Do 17s, Geoffrey Page was shot down into the English Channel, suffering severe burns. This eloquently written and critically acclaimed autobiography tells of his wartime exploits in the air and on the ground. This is a fascinating account of the courage and bravery of ‘The Few’, and of Geoffrey’s later life and achievements, most particularly in the creation of The Battle of Britain memorial. Softback, 256 pages.

Also available in -Ray Code: BR06Blu 2

CODE: B496

ONLY £5.99 Vulcan Cockpit DVD

Shot Down in Flames Book

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is pleased to present REUNION OF GIANTS – The Official Lancaster UK Tour Documentary! The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Avro Lancaster, VeRA, flew from Hamilton, Ontario to meet her British counterpart, Thumper – the only other surviving flight worthy Lancaster bomber in the world – the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s (BBMF) Lancaster in England. Region-free DVD, 83 minutes.

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World War II Archives DVD Storm Clouds Gather

Enter the cockpit of the iconic British Cold War Nuclear bomber, the Avro Vulcan. Legendary RAF pilot Flt Lt Martin Withers, who commanded Vulcan 607 on the first strike to take the Falklands in 1982, provides detailed commentary throughout this DVD, taking viewers through every aspect of the Vulcan’s cockpit and flight operations procedure. With on-board footage from airshows as well as air-to-air flights. Region-free DVD, Running time 70 minutes.

Bomber Command Special This 100-page special publication from the team behind FlyPast magazine pays tribute to the men of a mighty strategic force that played a significant role in the destruction of Europe’s totalitarian regimes. Using extensive archive images, renowned aviation writers and researchers present an incredible salute to the men, machines and exploits of Bomber Command. Special magazine, 100 pages

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Spitfire 80 Special In this 80th anniversary year, the publishers of FlyPast magazine present a special 100-page tribute to Britain’s greatest fighter and possibly the best known combat aircraft in the world. Using extensive archive images, the best of aviation writers and researchers salute the Spitfire’s incredible heritage. Special Magazine, 100 pages.

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CODE: DVD595

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CODE: SPECBOM

The complete story of World War II through fascinating archive footage. Within a decade the Treaty of Versailles being ratified, which set out to restore peace and reconciliation in the aftermath of the carnage, the storm clouds were already starting to gather. Region-free DVD, Running time 56 minutes.

This special from the team behind Britain at War magazine, tells the story of the fourth year of the Great War. Despite victories at the Somme and Verdun, the fourth year of the Great War saw no relaxation of Allied efforts. The war of attrition that had seen the incremental weakening of the German Army, and the German nation, had to be maintained, even accelerated, throughout 1917. Special Magazine, 132 pages.

ONLY £12.49

CODE: DVD560

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CODE: SPECSPIT80

ONLY £3.99

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Lie in the Dark & Listen Book

During WWII, on one raid alone, Nuremburg March 1944, more Bomber Command airmen lost their lives than were lost in the Battle of Britain. These were ordinary men who became part of extraordinary events. Their story, vivdly recreated here, is special. The crew’s tour starts with Bomber Command’s Main Offensive in late 1943, continuing through D-Day and the invasion of Western Europe. One day though, they are shot down over Belgium, to become, in turn, prisoner, evader, casualty. Softback, 224 pages.

ONLY £10.00

CODE: B483

Produced by Key Publishing with exclusive access to the Royal Air Force, and featuring articles written with and by RAF personnel, The Official RAF Annual Review 2017 is a 132-page special magazine providing behind the scenes insight into the aircraft, equipment, people and operations of one of the world’s premier air forces.

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Flying twenty-five thousand feet above Malta where the Spitfires intercepted the Messerschmitts, Macchis and Reggianes, was pilot George Beurling, nicknamed ‘Screwball’, who in fourteen flying days destroyed twentyseven German and Italian aircraft, and damaged many more. “Malta Spitfire” tells his story and that of the gallant Spitfire squadron, 249, which day after day climbed to the ‘top of the hill’ to meet the enemy against overwhelming odds. Softback, 256 pages.

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Malta Spitfire Book

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First Generation Harrier in Worldwide Service Book

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MODELLING

Often quoted as the model for the Steve McQueen character in “The Great Escape”, by age 21, Ken had already trained to be a pilot officer; flown 56 hair-raising bomber missions by night over Germany; taken part in the siege of Malta; got married; been shot down into a remote Norwegian lake; and been captured, interrogated and sent to Stalag Luft III. Softback, 224 pages.

RAF Official Annual Review 2017 Special

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FlyPast Binder

Colour schemes and markings of the most recognised and loved post-war British-designed military aircraft ever produced. New feature - archive photographs included.

Invest for the future with these FlyPast binders. Perfect for preserving your collection for years to come. Each binder will hold 12 issues

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WHAT’S NEW NEW PRODUCT REVIEWS

book briefs The History of RAF Millom and the Genesis of RAF Mountain Rescue, John Nixon, Pixel Tweaks, 360pp, illus, hbk, £25.00 – anyone who thinks that Cumberland was an aviation backwater during World War Two needs to read this astounding testament to the personnel of Millom. The base was developed as an advanced flying training station on flat coastal land at Haverigg. John Nixon is a master at bringing airfield communities to life on the page and this exceptionally well-produced tome is full of first-hand recollections ranging from coping with the inadequacies of the Blackburn Botha to the ingenuity of Flt Lt George Graham, founder of the mountain rescue service. www.pixeltweakspublications.co.uk

Memories revived www.casematepublishing.co.uk

Wings Over Dartmoor, Graham Lewis, Leesthorpes Publishers, 192pp, illus, sbk, £17 – the result of almost 30 years of research, this book is a comprehensive guide to military aircraft crashes on Dartmoor and the fringes of the National Park. Of interest to both armchair aviation enthusiasts and those who walk the moor, it is illustrated with photographs from author Graham Lewis’s collection, and paintings by the author. Containing details of incidents involving everything from Spitfires to Hampdens, it is also a fitting tribute to the men from around the world who lost their lives on the moor while serving their countries. Copies of the book are available from the author: [email protected]

The Blackbird Files www.ospreypublishing.com

Sixty Squadron RAF, Gp Capt A J L Scott, Casement Lockheed Blackbird – Beyond The Secret Missions (Revised Edition), Paul F Crickmore, Osprey, hbk, illus, 472pp, £35 Publishers, hbk, £19.99 Based on recently declassified sources, new information relating The Way of the Eagle, Maj Charles J Biddle, Casement to the iconic Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird has been revealed. This Publishers, hbk, £19.99 revised edition of the Blackbird story comes ten years after the Both of these first, and contains a wealth of previously secret data and imagery books are taken during the CIA’s A-12 and SR-71 programmes. It is beautifully reprints of illustrated throughout by hundreds of colour photographs (many works originally published for the first time). This new edition includes a chapter published shortly by record-breaking crew members Col Ed Yeilding and Col Curt after World War Osterheld, providing a rare insight into what it was like to fly the One by men who Blackbird at over 2,200mph and 14 miles high during the Cold War, were directly while Soviet MiG-31 ‘Foxhound’ pilot Mikhail Myagkiy tried in vain involved. The to intercept them. Mikhail states that while he chased the SR-71 first covers the on 14 occasions, he only once got near enough to see one. This story of one of extremely detailed and attractively designed book is divided into the RFC/RAF’s 16 chapters with ten appendices – it is likely to be regarded as the most successful definitive volume about one of the world’s most famous military scout (fighter) aircraft. squadrons from 1916 to 1918. Written by a former CO from www.crecy.co.uk 1917, it has a Testing to the Limits Volume Two: British Test Pilots Since 1909 contemporary by Ken Ellis, Crécy, illus, £24.95 feel, hardly Wrecks and Relics Vol 25 by Ken Ellis, Crécy, illus, hbk, 368pp surprising from Completing his two-part dossier of all the great British test an author who pilots, FlyPast’s legendary contributing editor Ken Ellis has dug was there at deep into the archives to detail the bravery and achievements the time and of hundreds of aviators. knew many of As well as those that became household names, Testing to the individuals the Limits also brings to the fore many ‘unknowns’ who risked involved. everything to take a prototype into the skies. This two-volume In contrast, The project is the culmination of 20 years’ work, and describes the careers of 400 test pilots. In what is undoubtedly the Way of the Eagle most comprehensive study on the subject ever produced, is the story of Ken describes the challenges involved, along with providing one man – Charles biographies and detailing incidents and anecdotes, often Biddle who came supported by first-hand quotes. from a wealthy From the Short biplanes of 1909, the book traverses the American family abundance of prototypes in the 1920s and 1930s all the way but joined the through to the modern era. It includes the advances of World French Foreign War Two from Spitfires to jets, the post-war challenges of Legion before the ‘sound barrier’ and the pressures of the Cold War to the learning to fly supersonic Concorde, the Harrier ‘jump-jet’ and today’s fly-byand serving wire Typhoon. It includes a foreword by John Farley, a former with the famous Hawker Siddeley and British Aerospace Harrier test pilot. Lafayette Escadrille. He later transferred to the US Also available from the same author and publisher is Wrecks & Air Service and eventually rose to command the 4th Relics Volume 25, an indispensable 368-page directory of extant Pursuit Group, by which time he had become an ace airframes in the UK. ‘Hardcore’ aviation enthusiasts will need with seven victories to his name. no introduction to the series, a comprehensive touring guide Both books make a welcome return. They provide a to museums, warbirds, plus military and civil relics. Including new generation with first-hand accounts of life with over 200 photos, this completely revised 25th edition details a an RFC squadron over the Somme or flying a SPAD vast array of aircraft, including their build and retirement in a whirling dogfight with enemy Fokkers. Both are dates within potted service histories. It is priced at £18.95 and thoroughly entertaining reads. ANDREW THOMAS available from the website above.

Pushing the boundaries

102 FLYPAST March 2017

s

Fighters Over The Fleet – Naval Air Defence from Biplanes to the Cold War, Norman Friedman, Seaforth, 460pp, illus, hbk, £45 – this comprehensive account is a description of the evolution of naval fighters for fleet air defence and the parallel evolution of the ships operating and controlling them. It focuses on the Royal Navy, the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, offering a wealth of insight and detail, taking in technology, strategy and operations. Describing tactics that emerged in the 1920s all the way up to the modern era, it is also lavishly illustrated and very well managed by author Norman Friedman, one of America’s best known naval analysts and historians. www.seaforthpublishing.com

page turners Special duties www.pen-and-sword.co.uk RAF and the SOE – An Official History, edited by John Grehan, Pen & Sword/Frontline Books, hbk, 309pp, £25 The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was established after the German occupation of mainland Europe in a bid to ‘set Europe ablaze’, as Winston Churchill memorably put it. The key enabler to allow the SOE to function and be supported deep in enemy held territory was the RAF, and specifically its Special Duties squadrons. Accounts of Westland Lysanders landing quietly at night on unlit fields in France, dropping off or picking up agents, are well documented. Less well known are the efforts of the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Handley Page Halifax crews who would parachute stores and agents into hostile territory. The latter, undeniably brave, often met a gruesome fate. This book brings the official records relating to these operations into a collective form for the first time. The compilers should be congratulated on this worthy achievement. While not necessarily bedtime reading, this publication will be a valuable addition to anyone with an interest in RAF history or the SOE. Thoroughly recommended. ANDREW THOMAS

Long March www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Rising Stars www.blackstarbrands.com Based at the legendary Biggin Hill aerodrome in Kent, Black Star Brands is a design and clothing manufacturer that aims to celebrate our aviation heritage. As such it has produced a variety of t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies and greetings cards, all invoking the ingenuity, innovation and bravery of aircraft designers, builders and pilots. Its latest eye-catching product is a superb polo shirt celebrating the halcyon days of pre-war air racing, and in particular the famous Schneider Trophy. Available in both navy (pictured) and white, each shirt features three embroidered badges, on the front and on both sleeves, plus an embroidered neck braid saluting Supermarine designer R J Mitchell and pilot John Boothman. The trophy was won by Boothman flying a Supermarine S.6B in 1931. The shirts also come with internal detail and a designer swing tag with a fold-out map illustrating the 1931 air race course. Available in five different sizes, we think the clothing’s authentic, nostalgic feel, and lavish attention to detail make these a great buy for the British aviation enthusiast – each is priced £54.77. Other items available from Black Star Brands include t-shirts featuring the English Electric Lightning, de Havilland Mosquito and DH.88 Comet Racer. A black Spitfire Mk.I shirt also caught our eye, as did a special shirt paying tribute to Britain’s greatest aviator, the late Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown. Each of these costs £29.89, except the Spitfire item which is listed at £24.91. Black Star Brands is about to launch two new designs, displaying a Special Duties Westland Lysander III and a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. Check the website above.

Shot Down – A Secret Diary of one PoW’s Long March to Freedom, Alex Kerr, Pen & Sword, hbk, 199pp, £19.99 Alex Kerr’s Vickers Wellington was shot down over Germany in 1941. At first hospitalised with hopes of repatriation, he unexpectedly found himself a prisoner in a German PoW camp. Throughout those difficult four years that he was held captive, Alex kept a secret diary. This book reproduces his entries providing a fascinating account of all aspects of life in a wartime prison. He describes being part of the infamous ‘Long March’ during which he and his comrades were strafed by Allied aircraft; 60 men were killed and 100 wounded. Alex escaped the march and eventually commandeered a car belonging to a German mayor. He drove back to Brussels from where he flew to freedom. His optimistic style and the obvious camaraderie between him and his captive comrades is consistently entertaining. It’s an authentic World War Two memoir — from being shot out of the sky, to incarceration and the ultimate triumph of escape.

Middle East Hunters www.helion.co.uk Hawker Hunters At War – Iraq and Jordan 1958-1967, Tom Cooper and Patricia Salti, Helion, sbk, 72pp, £16.95 This colourful book describes every aspect of the Hunter’s service in Iraq and Jordan, from in-depth coverage of negotiations related to their export to the two countries, to details of their operational service. It culminates in a thorough examination of the jet’s role in the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War (also known as the Six Days War) and includes extensive tables listing all aircraft delivered and their fates. Almost entirely based on interviews with retired commanding officers and pilots of the former Royal Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi Air Force and Royal Jordanian Air Force – as well as plenty of unpublished official documents from British, Iraqi and Jordanian archives – the narrative provides real insight into the operation and deployment of Hunters. It is profusely illustrated with well over 100 photographs and 15 colour profiles showing all aspects of camouflage, markings and equipment. March 2017 FLYPAST 103

PILOT’S PERSPECTIVE GRUMMAN GOOSE

R

esting in its hangar in Anchorage, Alaska, along the shores of Lake Hood, the world’s busiest seaplane base, is a unique warbird. The aircraft is undergoing its annual maintenance inspection — best accomplished during the long, dark, cold months of the Alaskan winter since the summer months are full of long, sunny, warm days for flying. This is no ordinary warbird, however, as it is an amphibian, meaning it can land on either land or water. Further, it is in an equally rare group of warbirds that works for a living. This is John Pletcher’s Grumman Goose N703, operated by a limited liability company (LLC), called B-81, after the amphibian’s constructor’s number.

Wall Street Commuter In 1936, a group of wealthy businessmen wanted an easier

way to commute from Long Island to Wall Street in New York. They asked Roy Grumman to build an aircraft that could take them from a private airfield and land on the water near Wall Street. The result was the G-21 Goose, a light transport and the first of a line of amphibians. After a first flight on May 29, 1937, production began at Bethpage, Long Island, New York. A contemporary of the Douglas DC-3, the Goose was on the cutting edge of modern design at the time. In 1938, the US Navy evaluated the Goose and ordered it as the JRF, in sub-variants JRF-1 to -6. It also served in the US Army Air Corps as the OA-9 or OA-13A. The Goose served the military in numerous roles: transport, targettug, maritime reconnaissance, trainer and air-sea rescue aircraft. Officially, the G-21 was a

commercial seven-seater, and while several versions were built for the military, the most numerous was the JRF-5, built from 1941-1945. It had racks on the wings and could carry two 325lb depth charges or 250lb bombs. The RAF and Royal Navy operated 46 Gooses, and the type also saw service with several other countries, including Canada. During World War Two, the Japanese captured a Goose, and they apparently liked it well enough that they continued to fly it. Empty weight was 5,425lb (2,461kg) with a maximum of 8,000lb. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radials each producing 450hp (335kW), it served the military well. Production ran from 1937 to 1945, the last official military flight of a Goose was in the mid1950s. A total of 345 Gooses –

Warrior

they are never referred to in the plural as Geese – were produced, including 184 JRF-5s.

Warbird to Workhorse After the war, most of the Gooses were transferred into civilian operation, seeing widespread service with small passenger airlines in the Caribbean, Alaska and elsewhere. The amphibians worked hard for many years, until spare parts and experienced pilots and mechanics became increasingly rare. The first Goose came to Alaska in 1948 with Reeve Aleutian Airways and began services to and within the Aleutian Islands. In 1977, Reeve turned the Goose operation over to Orin Seybert’s Peninsula Airways (PenAir) which flew commercially from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, until 2012, when the last one was finally retired.

Working

Grumman Goose pilot Burke Mees reveals to Lt Col Robert ‘Cricket’ Renner why the working warbird is his ‘all-time favourite airplane’. John Dibbs photography ALL JOHN M DIBBS - PLANE PICTURE COMPANY UNLESS NOTED

104 FLYPAST March 2017

IN THE LOGBOOK

For seven decades the Goose was the vital connection to the outside world for the villages and outposts along the remote and rocky Aleutians. The amphibians brought mail and freight and transient workers to and from the fishing industry’s seafood processing facilities. Today, there are an estimated 30 to 40 airworthy Gooses worldwide.

Reborn amphibian The Lake Hood Goose began life on August 31, 1944 as JRF-5 37828 and entered US Marine Corps service at Santa Barbara, California. It was converted to JRF-6 status at Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island, from November

1952 to July 1953, and flew its last military flight on December 30, 1954 at Annapolis, Maryland. During its military service, 37828 was assigned to Point Mugu and Alameda in California, Rhode Island, Norfolk in Virginia; as well as Annapolis, Quonset Point and Santa Barbara. From 1956 to 1965, the Goose flew for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, where it was given the civilian registration N703. During this time, it flew from Lake Hood and its last flight in government service, and for the next 30 years, was in October 1965. Sold to a private owner in 1974, the Goose sat dormant with weeds growing around it on the shore of Lake Spenard, part

of the vast Lake Hood seaplane base, through the 1970s. Many Anchorage kids grew up playing in it, including several who are now professional pilots. John Pletcher purchased N703 in June 1994 and began a thorough restoration that would take nearly two years and 8,000 hours of labour. Employing a large crew of local Alaskan talent, John’s focus was to bring it back to its original wartime condition. When he acquired the Goose, it had around 4,600 flying hours on it; the port engine is only the second one ever installed on that side.

Try out the Goose Pilots have an opportunity to experience flying in this unique amphibian warbird. B-81 LLC offers multi-engine seaplane training tailored to the specific goals and skills of the customer, ranging from a brief introductory flight for those who just want to experience how she flies to a complete seaplane rating involving up to four days of training and a check-ride.

Come to Alaska and fly the Goose! For more information please visit www.goosehangar.com

March 2017 FLYPAST 105

PILOT’S PERSPECTIVE GRUMMAN GOOSE

Loading depth charges on a JRF-2 in front of the US Coast Guard hangar at Floyd Bennett Field, New York.

A US Coast Guard JRF-2 Goose, circa 1943. VIA JOHN DIBBS

A depth charge-equipped JRF Goose undergoing engine pre-heating prior to a patrol. VIA JOHN DIBBS

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“For seven decades the Goose was the vital connection to the outside world for the villages and outposts along the remote and rocky Aleutians. The amphibians brought mail and freight and transient workers...”

IN THE LOGBOOK Fishing and camping Taking to the skies once again in August 1995, the Goose has been flying continually, with John putting about 1,100 hours on it since restoration. Like any other seaplane in Alaska, John uses his Goose to get into the Alaska wilderness for fishing and camping trips. It won awards as the Grand Champion Warbird at Arlington, Washington, and the Champion Seaplane at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, both in 1998. Burke Mees, N703’s instructor pilot, told FlyPast: “It is a very good, straight airframe, probably the best around. It’s also a very tasteful rebuild. John brought it back to the original Grumman configuration, with a lot of original things.” “It has the ‘identification friend or foe’ lights on the wings, a door in the aft fuselage for flares and a cable guide on the vertical tail for reeling out a high frequency antenna. Stuff like that you don’t see on many Gooses. It also has the original fabric wing [outboard of the engine nacelle, aft of the spar], whereas most have been metallised.” Ownership of N703 has recently been transferred to B-81 LLC with the mission to preserve the Goose and its heritage. With the aircraft nearing a costly engine change, B-81 offers opportunities to fly the Goose. By doing so, John hopes to assure that N703 remains a familiar sight in the Alaska skies for many years to come.

Different, not difficult Burke flew the Goose commercially from 1996 to 2001 for PenAir in Dutch Harbor. After he was hired by Alaska Airlines in 2001, Burke kept flying the Goose as a part-time instructor until 2012 when PenAir retired its last example. He is the instructor for experience flights and multi-engine seaplane ratings in N703. Although he has about 3,000 hours in Gooses, Burke is quick to give recognition to the pilots who flew it full-time to the end of its service life. He also credits the many older aviators who imparted their knowledge to make him a safe Goose pilot, and he gladly shares his experience of this working warbird.

“I always say the Goose is not difficult, just different from modern airplanes. As a tailwheel airplane, it’s different from other tailwheel airplanes. As a seaplane, it’s different from other floatplanes. It’s a responsive, honest airplane, and not difficult at all if you understand its nature. It has big flight controls that are well-balanced.” “Part of the charm of flying the Goose is that it’s a relic of another era. It was made when simplicity was considered a virtue, when solid construction and good handling took precedence over speed and efficiency, when responsive and authoritative controls came before stability and ease of flying, when drag and adverse yaw were embraced for what they are and when lawyers had little to do with any of it. Because of this, the airplane has a distinctly different personality from those that were designed any time during my lifetime. “The Goose is first and foremost a water airplane, and that is where it is most at home. It does really well in windy conditions and rough water, which is why it kept flying so long in the Aleutians after it retired elsewhere.”

One’s good, two’s better “When I first walk up to a Goose with intent to fly it, the first thing I do is take inventory of the hull plugs. When we put an airplane away after a day of flying, we remove the hull plugs to drain out any water that has accumulated in the course of the day, and we leave the plugs out to air out the hull. “When getting the airplane ready to fly, the first order of business is to replace these plugs, and this isn’t something we can afford to forget. Airplanes have sunk because of this oversight. “On land, the Goose has a retractable, non-steering [freecastoring] tailwheel that can be locked straight for take-off and landing. Without tailwheel steering, the Goose relies on the rudder for steering at higher speeds, on differential brakes and power at low speeds, and on a combination of all of the above at intermediate speeds. “When taxiing on the water, steering relies entirely on differential engine power, and you have to continually anticipate the

turn with the appropriate engine. “The Goose has large, effective ailerons, with a lot of authority, so when you need to get a positive roll response, you can count on getting it, even at slow speeds. This also comes with a lot of adverse yaw, but this is welcome in a place where gusty crosswinds are a part of daily life. In a crosswind, weather cocking pulls the nose into the wind, and putting aileron into the crosswind creates a corrective yaw in the other direction. In this way, aileron can be used to mitigate the effects of weather cocking and significantly improve controllability. “The Pratt & Whitney R-985 is unquestionably a good engine and, in my opinion, the only thing better than a -985 is two of them. The engine doesn’t have any real quirks or sensitivities, it seldom quits without giving some notice, and it just generally does what it should. “The first warm-up of the day in cool weather usually takes about ten to 15 minutes and requires some discipline and patience, which can be out of character with the frantic pace of commercial flying. I let it serve as a reminder that you just shouldn’t be in a hurry when you’re flying the Goose. “That the propellers are placed right in the spray zone is the greatest design weakness of the Goose. Spray damage is an unfortunate fact of life. On calm days with smooth water it isn’t too bad, but when operating the airplane heavily loaded in the windy, rough water conditions that are common in the Aleutians, the props usually require dressing at the end of the day. The steps I take for spray mitigation complicates the take-off, but it definitely makes a difference.”

Part boat, part aircraft The take-off technique Burke uses is consistent with the Navy’s 1945 JRF-5 pilot’s handbook that states: “To reduce the spray on take-off, it is advisable to use maximum take-off [power] …at the same time holding the elevator control full back. With this technique, the airplane will get on the step [a ‘notch’ in the hull to assist in unsticking], with minimum delay.” Burke also notes that at the start of the take-off roll, full aileron is held to counteract torque and keep the wings level. Once the aircraft is on the step, he drops 30°

March 2017 FLYPAST 107

PILOT’S PERSPECTIVE GRUMMAN GOOSE

Built in 1938 for Texaco Oil as NC20648, this Goose went on to serve the RCAF as 798 from April 1942 to January 1945. It returned to oil company use in 1949 with Shell in Ecuador as HC-SBV but had been written off before the year was out. VIA JOHN DIBBS

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IN THE LOGBOOK

of flaps to add lift and the Goose smoothly rises out of the water. On landing, Burke says “Watching a well-executed, rough-water landing, there is a contrast between what is going on inside and outside the airplane. Looking outside, you should see the bow-cleat [on the nose] holding a rock-steady pitch attitude, while looking inside you’ll see the rapid, large, forward and aft control-wheel deflections that are required to keep it that way. “One thing the Goose does not do

well is manoeuvre to a dock. The wing float and propeller get in the way. The standard way to park a Goose after landing in the water is to extend its large wheels and drive it out of the water, either on to a beach or up a ramp. “A concrete seaplane ramp is the best way to go since you can drive the airplane entirely out of the water and park it into the wind. If using a beach, you usually park it at the

water’s edge, driving it only as far out of the water as is necessary to swing the tail over and park it securely. In either case, everyone steps out of the airplane on to dry land without getting their feet wet.” Burke’s nostalgia and love for flying the Goose shows. “What was informally called the ‘Grumman Ironworks’ had a reputation for sturdy airplanes, and almost eight decades later the Goose still lives up to that. “In the Aleutians, the Goose was

just a part of life, nothing special about it. Anyone who got around the Aleutians flew around on a Goose. It was always part of the landscape; it was a part of life out there. You would beat the heck out of it and tell the mechanic to deal with it. “Flying the Goose day-to-day for a living led to a lot of interesting, fun, and amusing times. It was hard work certainly, but it was also enjoyable, and over the years, the Goose earned a place in my heart as my alltime favourite airplane.” Thanks to John Pletcher and Burke Mees for keeping this history alive and for flying this cool warbird in Alaska

“The Pratt & Whitney R-985 is unquestionably a good engine, and in my opinion, the only thing better than a -985 is two of them” March 2017 FLYPAST 109

FLYPOST

FlyPast, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ, UK email: [email protected]

Contributions from readers are always welcome for this column. Views expressed in FlyPost are not necessarily those of the Editor, or publisher. Letters may be edited for style or length.

Note that letters sent by e-mail will not be published unless the contributor includes their full postal address for possible contact. Letters intended for FlyPost should be clearly marked as such.

Hoot and Roar, 64!

SAC Alan Mudge at RAF Tengah during his time with 64 Squadron in 1966. ALAN MUDGE

More on Mailly-leCamp I was fascinated to read of the experiences of P/O Bell in the article Missing (January edition) and the more so for the surprising parallels with those of my cousin P/O Fairbairn of 100 Squadron. Both were trained abroad – though my cousin went to the USA – flew their first operations in Lancasters on the 15th of consecutive months, would have been together on some if not all later raids to Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Essen, Nuremburg and Mailly-le-Camp. Both fell to nightfighters and were buried in the cemeteries of small French villages. The article noted the policy of French targets counting as only onethird and the enclosed page from my cousin’s log book carries the laconic comment “shaking for a third” – a clear reference to that policy and chaos of the Mailly-le-Camp raid. While on a raid to Archères on June 10 to 11 of that year, it seems certain that my cousin also became the victim of a Shräge Musik night-

The article Transatlantic Spitfire (FlyPast February 2017) and the mention of Mike Donnet got the old memory fired up. I served twice on 64 Squadron, which was flying the Gloster Javelin in the Far East during the Indonesian Confrontation during the mid1960s, and was stationed at RAF Tengah on both occasions. As an armourer, I was kept very busy during my time on the squadron – in my case, as a ‘liney’ employed on the flight line, “seeing ‘em out and seeing ‘em in”, plus the armament trade turn arounds. Life could be quite exciting sometimes; the Javelin was well

fighter and, in a further possible coincidence, one of P/O Bell’s likely attackers Oberleutnant Jakob Schaus claimed a ‘four-engined’ target that night near Dreux, about 20 miles northeast of the tiny village of Serazereux. My cousin and the crew are still buried there and only last June I attended an impressive and moving commemoration day for them, mounted by the village. As with P/O Bell and his crew, and so many others elsewhere, they truly are ‘not forgotten’. My cousin’s father was naturally bereft at the loss of his only son and concerned at discovering he was not flying with his own crew, but was taking a new pilot on his first raid; an action his father felt had exposed his son to unnecessary risk. He wrote to the squadron and one must marvel at the thoughtful and very prompt reply. It is sobering to think how many similar letters the Wing Commander and others must have had to write.

known for engine bay fires on start-up. The main engine bay panel was left down so that after starting, one member of the crew got his head and shoulders between two roaring BristolSiddeley Sapphires to check for problems, before he and his mate fitted the large panel. The flight line was directly in front of the control tower and fire service, which was very useful on more than one occasion, with the firemen there literally in seconds! Looking at [and comparing] today’s health and safety on the flight line, all we were wearing back then was a pair of working shorts

Are you sitting comfortably? In February’s Flypost there is a letter from Tim Foster asking if a demonstration ejection he saw at RAF Lichfield in the mid-1950s could have been a Martin-Baker rocket seat. The answer is no. What Tim probably saw was a 90-knot runway level ejection with a Mk.4 seat, which had a good groundlevel ejection performance down to that speed. Unfortunately, many emergency ejections occurred with the aircraft descending close to the ground, which made a safe escape marginal. Increasing the power of the ejection gun was not possible without risking spinal injury to the pilot, and so Martin-Baker started looking for other ways to boost seat performance. I joined Martin-Baker in January

and standard RAF shoes. On June 16, 1967, the squadron disbanded, leaving 60 Squadron also at Tengah, as the RAF’s last Javelin squadron. The reviewing officer was Lt Gen Baron Mike Donnet who, as a young pilot, flew with the squadron during World War Two, so it was fitting he was present as the squadron bowed out. Following the parade, the whole squadron adjourned to the all ranks’ McGregor Club for a few beers. The final “Hoot and Roar, 64!” could probably have been heard all over the Far East. ALAN MUDGE

1961, having responded to their advert for ‘a technician to assist in the development of a rocket ejection seat’. Development was still in its earliest stages, and used two rocket motors down the back of the seat for propulsion after the normal ejection gun stroke. Although very experimental, it was this system that was used by William ‘Doddy’ Hay when he made the first zero speed – zero altitude ejection – [at Chalgrove Airfield] on April 1, 1961. It was not until the mid- to late ’60s that the first rocket seats entered service. In 1968, as the firm’s technical representative, I had the great satisfaction of overseeing the introduction of rocket seats to the US Navy and their lifesaving improvement in escape performance. BRIAN MILLER 

PAUL DOUGLAS EDENBRIDGE, KENT

OPS BOARD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------March 17, RAF Museum Cosford – Cold War Lunchtime Lecture. www.rafmuseum.org/cosford March 27, Arun & Chichester Air Enthusiasts Society, Chichester – ‘A Display Pilot’s Story’, a talk by Wing

110 FLYPAST March 2017

Commander Ret’d Bill Ramsey. www.airaces.org.uk

July 8/9, Martlesham Heath Aviation Society, Martlesham Heath - A celebration of the centenary of the airfield. www.mh100.org.uk

It was not until the mid-to-late ’60s that rocket seats entered service, having first been tested on aircraft such as Martin-Baker’s Gloster Meteor T Mk.7½ WL419. KEY COLLECTION

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GLORY DAYS PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES

UNITED FORCE

IMAGES FROM THE LATE WG CDR GORDON HAYWOOD’S COLLECTION PRESENTING SNAPSHOTS O F TH Above

Having completed conversion to Hurricanes at Kenley, 615 Squadron moved to Prestwick, near Ayr in Scotland in August 1940, returning via Northolt to Kenley in December. In April 1941 the unit was stationed at Valley in Anglesey where Canadian-built Mk.I Z7143 is shown. This was a favoured mount of Plt Off John Slade, circa June 1941. Slade was shot down and killed on November 2, 1941 during a shipping recce off Ostend while flying Hurricane IIb BE144. Right

The Gladiators of 615 ‘County of Surrey’ Squadron went to war on September 2, 1939, when they deployed to Croydon, Surrey. At what was then London Airport, the squadron prepared to move to France to support the British Expeditionary Force. The biplane unit settled in at Merville, near Caen, on November 15. Formed at Kenley, Surrey, in June 1937 as part of the Auxiliary Air Force, 615’s motto was ‘Conjunctis Viribus’ which translates as ‘By Our United Force’.

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Lady Marguerite Bligh with Flt Lt Gordon Haywood’s Hurricane. Her name is chalked under the cockpit awaiting finishing touches from the squadron painters. This Hurricane is thought to be Canadian-built Mk.I AE963. Lady Marguerite had driven ambulances during the London Blitz and in 1942 became Gordon Haywood’s wife.

TS O F THE EARLY WAR ACTIVITIES OF 615 SQUADRON Centre

With typical fighter pilot gestures, Frenchman Plt Off René Mouchotte enacts a combat for the photographer, possibly after he shared in the destruction of a Junkers Ju 88 on August 26, 1941. As Sqn Ldr Mouchotte DFC, he led the Free French 341 Squadron, but was lost in combat with Focke-Wulf Fw 190s on August 27, 1943. Left

Relaxing in the summer sunshine of 1941, left to right: Plt Off René Mouchotte, Flt Lt Gordon Haywood with Lady Marguerite Bligh, the squadron adjutant Fg Off G Tennant, and in the white pullover one of the Canadian pilots, either Plt Off Arthur Stephen or Plt Off Albert Boulanger. The identity of the airman laid on his back in the foreground is unknown. Below

An evocative panorama of RAF Valley in June orJuly 1941. Hurricanes from 615 Squadron are dispersed around the airfield.

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HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX METEOROLOGICAL DUTIES

114 FLYPAST March 2017

OUTLOOK FROM

‘THE R CK’

HALIFAX CREWS ROUTINELY RISKED THEIR LIVES TO ACQUIRE VITAL WEATHER INFORMATION. KEN ELLIS DESCRIBES THE WORK OF GIBRALTAR’S LAST ‘MET SHIPS’

I

t was exacting work, maintaining an accurate flight profile, and then at regular intervals collecting and transmiting vital data. Sorties were staged in all conditions, day and night, regular as clockwork. The information gathered could be crucial for operations and exercises, but more than that, it might save lives. Until the advent in the 1960s of balloons with telemetry and highflying commercial jetliners providing updates and later still satellites, the RAF, Royal Navy and civilian agencies relied on meteorological flights to bring back the statistics upon which weather forecasts

were based. The aircrew carrying out these sorties have always been unsung; yet they risked their lives routinely. The weather was a perpetual enemy, but during World War Two, so was the Luftwaffe. The importance of the job, and the hazards encountered, meant ‘cloud hunting’ was a frontline duty. Among the many roles undertaken by the Handley Page Halifax, ‘met’ reconnaissance is probably the least well known. From the summer of 1943 the Halifax took on the role and the versatile bomber was still

carrying out such sorties nine years later. Indeed, the last operational flight in the type’s long and distinguished RAF career was weather recce.

NEW ROLE FOR SUB HUNTERS

From March 1, 1941 collecting meteorological data became a task of Coastal Command. Previously, it had been a Bomber Command responsibility, but diverting resources from the strategic war of attrition against

Left

A Halifax Met.6 of 224 Squadron patrols over ‘the Rock’, circa 1950. The extensive seawall of the harbour is underneath the Halifax, the hills in the background are within Spain. ALL AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

“The Merlin XX-engined Mk.V proved to be a disappointment in the long-range, over water role and from early 1945 the much more reliable Mk.III with Bristol Hercules XVI radials became the norm” March 2017 FLYPAST 115

HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX METEOROLOGICAL DUTIES

Right and below right

The aftermath of 224 Squadron Met.6 RG850 losing an engine on approach to North Front on March 5, 1949. All five on board were killed. Below

The Halifaxes of 224 Squadron kept the unit code ‘XB’ until 1951: ‘J-for-Juliet’, Mk.6 RG836, was struck off charge in May 1950.

Germany was vigorously opposed. Gathering weather information being mostly a maritime occupation, Coastal Command was seen as the ‘natural’ operator. Eventually five squadrons were devoted to the long-range role, each with an establishment of eight Halifaxes. First to convert was 518 Squadron in July 1943 at Stornoway in the Hebrides on Mk.Vs. This was followed by 517 in November 1943 at St Davids in Wales, 520 in February 1944 at Gibraltar, 519 at Tain in Scotland in August 1945, and 521 at Chivenor in Devon in December 1945.

Other than 518, which started off with Halifaxes, these squadrons had previously flown either Boeing Fortresses or Lockheed Hudsons for long-range weather hunting. By October 1946 four of the five units had disbanded. At Aldergrove in Northern Ireland, 518 Squadron was renumbered as 202 Squadron, resurrecting the ‘numberplate’ of a famed U-boat killing unit. From the autumn of 1946 until March 1948, 202 maintained a detachment at Gibraltar to extend the data gathering. In March 1951, the Halifax Met.6s of 202 gave way

“For accurate low-level flying a radio altimeter was essential. Crews would calibrate these instruments at every opportunity; descents through cloud to sea level would otherwise have been an act of blind faith”

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to another Handley Page type, the four-engined Hastings transport, reconfigured for weather work under the designation Met.1. Another veteran U-boat hunting squadron, 224, was re-formed at Aldergrove on March 1, 1948 to share the post-war weather task, also with Halifax Met.6s. This unit took up the Gibraltar detachment from 202 and, from October 18, under Sqn Ldr F A B Tarns, 224 moved lock, stock and barrel to ‘The Rock’, leaving a detachment in Northern Ireland.

Left

Ground crew of 224 Squadron, 1950-1951.

WEATHER SHIPS

At first the Coastal Command met squadrons were equipped with Halifax Vs and Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft at Eastleigh, Southampton, converted the bombers to their new role. The programme suffered from delays, initially in getting release of Mk.Vs from other units and then in perfecting the equipment. The Rolls-Royce Merlin XX-engined Mk.V proved to be a disappointment in the long-range, over water role and from early 1945 the much more reliable Mk.III with Bristol Hercules XVI radials became the norm. The definitive Halifax ‘weather ship’ was another Hercules-powered variant, the Mk.VI. The first full conversion appeared in the summer of 1945.

Most Halifax VIs that went on to serve with met units were built by English Electric at Samlesbury in Lancashire. The first was RG778 in June 1945, serving with 224 Squadron. Figures vary on how many Halifax VIs became met variants, but it was between 35 and 40. In 1948 the RAF changed its designation system from Roman to Arabic numerals, the surviving Halifaxes hence becoming Met.6s. Mounted on the starboard side of the nose of the Halifax just behind what had originally been the bomb aimer’s glazing, was a device

called a psychrometer. This was a more sophisticated version of the hygrometer to be found in basic weather stations the world over.

BLIND FAITH

The psychrometer was a rig holding two glass thermometer tubes. The mercury bulb of one was directly exposed to the airflow while the other was surrounded in a muslin wick soaked in water. The difference in the reading of the ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ bulbs was used to calculate the atmospheric humidity. Another thermometer would provide an accurate outside air

March 2017 FLYPAST 117

HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX METEOROLOGICAL DUTIES GIBRALTAR BASE

THIRD TIME UNLUCKY

While flying ‘touch and goes’ in 224 Squadron Met.6 RG839 on March 13, 1952, a pilot new to the Halifax came in very low on his third approach to Gibraltar’s westerly runway. The port undercarriage hit the sea wall and collapsed during a heavy touchdown. The Halifax slid to a halt; nobody was hurt. The unit was nearly through conversion to Shackleton MR.1As and only four days later the last-ever RAF Halifax operational sortie was completed. Not surprisingly, RG839 was not repaired and was quickly scrapped.

Above

Still carrying weather instrumentation on the starboard side of the nose, former 224 Squadron Met.6 ST804 stops over at St Mawgan, Cornwall, on its way to 48 Maintenance Unit, Hawarden, for scrapping November 1951. Above right

A 224 Squadron Halifax Met.6, probably ST804, with white overpainted upper forward fuselage, to help keep the cockpit area cool. Just visible in the background is a St Mawgan-based School of Maritime Reconnaissance Lancaster GR.3.

temperature reading. To assess wind speed, a drift meter was fitted. The externally mounted instruments could be monitored through a glazing on the starboard side of the nose. For accurate, low-level flying a radio altimeter was essential. Crews would calibrate these instruments at every opportunity; descents through cloud to sea level would otherwise have been an act of blind faith. An easy way to check out the altimeter was to fly alongside a spot height on a cliff, or a lighthouse, either of which would be of known elevation. This would provide a thrilling flypast for the aircrew, passers-by and lighthouse keepers. All data was not recorded automatically; the readings were taken visually by the crew. With the advent of the Halifax a dedicated weather observer could, for the first time, be accommodated, cheekby-jowl with the navigator in the extreme nose.

CLIMB AND DESCENT

Apart from a dog-leg sector over the North Sea and another out of Wick in northernmost Scotland, penetrating due north into Arctic waters, all of the Coastal Command met sorties headed westwards into the Atlantic. A typical out-and-back profile 118 FLYPAST March 2017

As the gateway and guardian of the western Mediterranean, Gibraltar naturally attracted the attentions of the Royal Naval Air Service and seaplanes were a common sight in the harbour from at least 1917. During the inter-war years, Gibraltar’s extensive harbour played host to flocks of flying boats. The racecourse, located on the narrow isthmus just north of the Rock served as a rudimentary airfield. Pressures of war from 1939 meant that the racecourse, a stone’s throw from the Spanish frontier, was inadequate. A 1,200 yard (1,100m)

“When the nominal point, deep in the Atlantic Ocean, was reached the Halifax would begin its climb ready to turn around and retrace its flightpath across lonely, inhospitable waters to the Rock” would involve flying at the pressure altitude of 950 millibars - that would equate to around 1,800ft (550m). Every 50nm (92km) the temperature and humidity would be charted and cloud and sea state noted. These figures, plus a sea level pressure reading and wind velocity was calculated at each 100-mile waypoint. At the outermost point, the Halifax would begin a spiralling, monotonous climb to 18,000ft to repeat the data-gathering exercise over a reciprocal heading for 500 miles. After that, the skipper would make a brisk descent to sea level for another set of measurements, followed by a low-level return to base. In the case of the Gibraltar ‘run’, codenamed ‘Nocturnal’, the sortie took the Halifax on a dead-straight course northwest towards the Azores for 1,100 miles. When this nominal point, deep in the Atlantic Ocean, was reached the aircraft would begin its climb ready to turn around and retrace its flightpath across lonely, inhospitable waters to the Rock.

east-west runway was built; the western end extending, finger-like, into the Bay of Gibraltar. When the work was completed in 1942, the airfield was named RAF North Front. The runway severed road communications in and out of the settlement. A traffic light system still in use - allowed vehicles to scurry across when there was a lull in flying. When the Halifax Met.6s of 224 Squadron took up permanent residence at North Front in October 1948, they succeeded a detachment of 202 Squadron. Before 202, ‘Gib’ had been the domain of 520 Squadron, which had a wonderfully descriptive motto: ‘Tomorrow’s weather today’. Rare for an RAF squadron, 520 spent its entire life based at Gibraltar; from inception in September 1943 to disbandment in April 1946. During that time, the unit operated an incredible variety of types, in sequence: Hudson, Gladiator, Halifax V, Spitfire V, Hurricane II, Martinet I, Halifax III and Warwick.

Left

Halifax Met.6 RG839 of 224 Squadron rolling for take-off at North Front in early 1952. Below

A view of North Front looking towards the Spanish border in early 1952, in the foreground is the colony’s huge public cemetery.

PERILOUS SORTIES

From the spring of 1944 the roundthe-clock arrivals and departures of lumbering, weather-hunting Halifaxes had become commonplace to Gibraltarians. If the sorties seemed unremarkable, every so often the perilous nature of the task came to the fore. Many citizens could see the comings and goings on the airfield so news spread quickly among the small, tight-knit community of the Rock. On March 5, 1949, Met.6 RG850 suffered an engine failure on approach. The pilot elected to go-around, but the Halifax lost speed, began to slip to starboard and dived into the ground close to the eastern threshold. All five on board were killed. The crew of RG837 were deliberately making a three-engined approach on January 16, 1951 during a regular pilot check out. A Hercules radial genuinely failed and the pilot quickly went through the drills to bring the feathered example back to life; but this failed. Within sight of a large number of spectators RG837 dropped into the water short of the threshold; all on board scrambled out unhurt.

The final accident was another staged in full glare of the residents when a ‘circuits and bumps’ detail went wrong. Again, there were no casualties, but the Halifax was written off - see panel opposite. In Northern Ireland, 224’s colleagues on 202 Squadron suffered terrible losses for peacetime while operating Halifax Met.6s. Over 17 months, 23 airmen perished in three separate accidents. Halifax Met.6 ST818 departed Aldergrove on a routine sortie out into the Atlantic on July 9, 1950. It was never seen again; no trace was found. Eight died when RG843 flew into a hillside in the Irish Republic on June 16, 1950 in widespread fog. Finally, on December 29, 1950, ST798 failed to return from a met recce. The body of its captain was picked up by a fishing vessel 18 days later.

NEW GENERATION

Shackleton MR.1 VP287 touched down at North Front on July 25, 1951 presaging the future for 224 Squadron. It had been with the unit less than three months when it

disgraced itself by landing wheelsup on September 21. It was out of commission until the spring of the following year. By the end of 1951 there were just three operational ‘Shacks’ with 224. The working life of its venerable Halifaxes was extended to cover for the slower than anticipated take over by the new generation. Overseeing the transition from Handley Page to Avro was Sqn Ldr G L Mattey DFC. With little ceremony in ‘Gib’ but considerable publicity in Britain, Flt Lt Finch carried out the last-ever sortie by an RAF Halifax when he ferried 224’s final Met.6 to 48 Maintenance Unit at Hawarden, near Chester on March 17, 1952. There is some debate as to which Halifax took the honours. It is officially recorded as RG841, but the press photo released at the time showed RG778. Whichever machine it was, it drew a line under the exceptional service the type had rendered the RAF. Starting off as a frontline bomber in November 1940, a dozen years later the Halifax was still putting itself in harm’s way.

March 2017 FLYPAST 119

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FOR SALE JG-52 BY Robert Taylor, rare print for sale. Certification of Authenticity. Contact [email protected] for further details.

ROBERT TAYLOR PRINTS: Extensive collection for sale, including many rare prints. For more details email [email protected] Call Ian on 0774 837 8925

PECARD LEATHER DRESSING. Ideal for conservation of leather flight clothing. Online ordering. www.antiqueleatherdressing.co.uk Tel: 01458 241816

TOP QUALITY

Colour Slides/Colour Photos/ B&W Photos Check out our website

www.airphotographicinternational.com

CLOTHING

TOURS

- www.flypast.com 120 FLYPAST March 2017

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AERO ENGINES including WWII Merlin/Jumo/Allison plus RR jet engines. Aero parts also available. Same items always wanted. Contact Martin on 07515 937 154 or 01332 793105 or visit www.ashbyaero.co.uk

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ASSOCIATIONS

153 Squadron

THE BLENHEIM SOCIETY Contact: Mr R J Scott 25 Herongate Road Cheshunt, Herts EN8 0TU Tel: 01992 442608 [email protected] blenheimsociety.org.uk

F: www.facebook.com/153-SquadronAssociation-379546518887869 W: http://153squadronassociation.weebly.com /association.html E: [email protected]

BRITISH MODEL FLYING ASSOCIATION

Contact: Mr Dave Phipps Chacksfield House 31 St Andrews Road Leicester LE2 8RE Tel: 0116 244 0028 Fax: 0116 244 0645 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bmfa.org

Annual Reunion - 5/6 May 2017 at the Bentley Hotel, Lincoln

FRIENDS OF THE FIGHTER COLLECTION

(RAF/USAAF) MARTLESHAM HEATH

Imperial War Museum Duxford Airfield Cambridge CB2 4QR [email protected] www.fighter-collection.com

Contact: R W Dunnett 341 Main Rd. Martlesham Suffolk IP5 2QU Tel: 01473 624510 [email protected] [email protected] www.mhas.org.uk

WANTED

ALL PLASTIC MODEL KITS WANTED Unmade or already built, any quantity, especially large collections, also diecast models & books. Will collect nationwide and pay best cash price. Please call 01202 976974 or 07901-890461. Thankyou.

COLOUR SLIDE AND B&W PHOTO/NEG COLLECTIONS WANTED - TOP PRICES PAID - All other aviation related items considered, will collect. Contact Chris Tel: 0208 422 5899 Email: [email protected]

NO 72 SQUADRON ASSOCIATION

THE SHACKLETON ASSOCIATION

Membership Secretary: T G Docherty 17 Mannachie Grove Forres Morayshire IV36 2WE Tel: 01309 675059 [email protected]

Membership Secretary Wally Allaway 1 Deepdale, Wilnecoat Tamworth, B77 4PD Tel: 01827 892 332 [email protected]

To place an 31/03/2015 advertisement in our 14:23 Web Directory section

No 72 Squad 60x42mm.indd 1

AIRCRAFT-MILITARY PLASTIC KITS WANTED unmade, especially large collections, individually priced, cash paid, will collect. Tel: 02476 542196. ALL MAKES OF UNMADE PLASTIC KITS PURCHASED Courier collections arranged for large quantities. Unit 8 Cedar Court, Halesfield 17, Telford, TF74PF Telephone: 01952 586457 Email: [email protected]

AVIATION BOOKS, MAGAZINES, PHOTOS, SLIDES, MODELS, ephemera wanted. Whole or part OLD WOODEN PROPELLERS collections bought. Please phone Mark 01264 334779. in any condition. Email mark@roberts15863. Tel: 07808 727939 fsnet.co.uk

Please contact Paige Hayward or 01780 755131

Email: [email protected] [email protected] - www.flypast.com MODELS

PHOTO

March 2017 FLYPAST 121

FINALS AVENGER AND DAUNTLESS As we look forward to the forthcoming airshow season, we present a final image from last year. In the US, the Planes of Fame Air Museum’s Grumman TBM-3E Avenger and Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless are pictured on their way to an event in Thermal, California. Scott Turner is at the controls of the Avenger (nearest camera) with John Kerpa flying the Dauntless. The Grumman has been with Planes of Fame since 1959 and was restored to flight in 1983, while the Dauntless – a veteran of World War Two’s Pacific theatre – was completed in 1989. PHOTO-FRANK B MORMILLO

next

In next month’s issue, we salute one of Britain’s most iconic jets, the English Electric Lightning. We describe various aspects of this powerful machine’s service in a series of features. Meanwhile our Spotlight section focuses on a very different aircraft, the Luftwaffe’s wartime Messerschmitt Me 410 and 210. The April issue will be in UK shops on March 1, or see page 52 for our latest money-saving subscription offers. * Overseas deliveries are likely to be after this date.

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